From: colten@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (marc.colten)
Subject: Re: The Media Monopoly (part 14 of 14)
Summary: Just some comments
Keywords: treachery trickery deceit deception
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 12:03:53 GMT

In article <Bvq4Iz.Lvy@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, bfrg9732@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Brian F. Redman) writes:
> 
> The Media Monopoly
> 
> by Ben H. Bagdikian
> 
> "The Media Monopoly" is published by Beacon Press in Boston.
> Help support the work of Ben H. Bagdikian by purchasing this book.
> 
> 
> Part 14 -- Afterword
> 

I haven't commented on any of this, but just a few things caught my
eye so I thought I say a couple of words:

> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> For example, "Time Warner, formed by merger of Time, Inc. and 
> Warner Communications, is the largest media corporation in the 
> world. It has more technical communication power than most 
> governments."
> 

Isn't that a good thing - private media rather than government
media?

> "The new global giants are doing more than expanding their 
> control over the technological instruments that issue news, 
> information, and entertainment. They and their subsidiaries are 
> also gathering up world copyrights of earlier information and 
> popular culture... Much of what used to be free in libraries or 
> inexpensive for the average consumer is rapidly growing in cost, 
> thanks to exclusive corporate ownership."
> 

How is that true?  LIbraries are still there and there is more
information available not less.  Once there were no video tapes,
no microfilm.  All this technological advances have made it more
available.  In some formats (ie. CD-ROM) it is more expensive
and not as available than books, but the books are still there.
How are they buying up culture?

> 		     -- Materialism --
> 
> There is "...another American tradition [besides the 'technical 
> skill and positive accomplishments of American broadcasting'] 
> that the rest of the world is now inheriting and could do 
> without. Underlying the growth of commercial television around 
> the world has been the promotion of materialism... Television, 
> even more than print, is best at selling goods that are marginal 
> to basic needs -- cosmetics, for example, rather than education."
> 

And yet all these things,and rampant materialism, existed before
TV.  LIke so many things that are blamed on TV, they pre-date it.

> 
> 	      -- Noncommercial Television --
> 
> "An enemy of commercial television is noncommercial television, 
> since those audiences reduce the audience for commercial 
> television. Noncommercial broadcasting also reminds the public 
> that there is an alternative to the heavy doses of sex-and- 
> violence, fantasy advertising, and programs designed primarily to 
> create a 'buying mood.' Noncommercial broadcasting can deal with 
> public issues and controversies in ways avoided by commercial 
> broadcasters whose advertisers, understandably, do not wish their 
> products associated with public controversy."
> 

This one is totally wrong.  The enemy of "commerical TV" is
pay TV (i.e. Cable, Satellite).  Non-Commercial TV is dying
and is constantly begging for donations and Government funds.
It is often quite good, but it is no "threat" to anyone.  Look
at who the networks are fighting, not PBS but the cable 
operators.  It's true that commercial TV is often dumbed down
but that is also because of the "free" and open nature of the medium,
anyone can tune in.


marc colten

Newsgroups: alt.activism