And, of course, these major media corporations keep a large stable of well paid lobbyists in Washington. Therefore, there could be a reporter getting ready for that hot expose, confronting a politician or bureaucrat at the same time two of the parent corporation's lobbyists are promoting a favorable law or rule change. One hand washes the other. And so the hot story gets spiked by the editor, in favor of a tax break, or whatever. These are just a couple of the more obvious ways Washington works.
All industries play the game.
Individual taxpayers cannot get a tax break from Congress, but the Lords and Ladies of Capitol Hill regularly write bills that give wealthy industries and businesses huge breaks. So, while capitalism has not given us totalitarianism, the amount of campaign and lobbying money floating around Washington is causing changes in that law that are adversely impacting on our individual rights. In fact, lobbying has become Washington, D.C.'s largest private sector employer. A whopping 67,062 people work in the lobbying industry. And, lobbying by multinational corporations and foreign governments is a major segment of that lobbying industry.