The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1946-05-03
EVERYBODY WANTS TO GET
INTO THE ACT

back for having achieved an exen
plary state of freedom of thought an
, expression in this country. He say
g. if we are to help lay any foul
dation of understanding among me
of all nations we must first clean on
own house. Governments are not tn
sole enemy of freedom. Concentrate
economic power also acts as a re
straint of thought. Monopolies of tn
mind have calmly entered our folB
ways. We in the United States hav
forsaken free enterprise in the field
of communication Competition is a
a minimum"
Greater Diversity of News
Sources Needed
Mr.. Ernst bases his argument OF
this premise: Again my basic article
of faith is that the full development
of man requires innumerable avenues
of access to his mind. The quantity
of words read or heard, or pictures
seen, is not without significance but
enrichment is geometrically increased
in proportion to the diversity of the
sources of the material. We need moi
fear a multitude of tongues. Man, lit
crate and informed, must develop a
capacity to sift and assay. This is the
creed democratic"
Conditions prevailing at this mo-
ment in Americas market places of
thought are startlingly illustrated by
Mr.. Ernst's careful statistics:
Ten states have not a single city
with competing daily papers.
Twenty-Five states are without Sun
day newspaper competition.
Fourteen companies owning IS pa
pers control about one quarter of our
total daily circulation.
Three hundred and seventy newspa-
pers own about one fifth of all our
circulation.
More than a quarter of our daily
circulation is absentee owned.
Three thousand two hundred week
lies-the backbone of local democracy
have disappeared.
One company dominates more than
1900 weeklies.
THERE ARE ONLY 1T CITIES
LEFT, IN OUR ENTIRE NATION,
WHERE COMPETING DAILIES
STILL EXIST"
Mr.. Ernst's statistics on radio are
hardly more reassuring:
Radio Also Monopoly-Owned
zone third of all regular radio sta
int
pers.
Four networks before the war had
95 per cent of all nighttime broadcast
ing power
One hundred forty-four advertisers
account for 81 per cent of all the net
work income.
Eleven advertisers contribute about
so per cent of all the network in
come.
A dozen advertising agents create
the radio programs which bring to the
networks one half of their income
Independent radio stations are the
of the mike.
In more than 100 areas the only
left own the only radio
station" Now regard the movies:
"The weekly attendance at movies
to more than 100 million
people. Five companies-called the
Big Five-pick up more than three
quarters of all the nickels and dimes |
paid by the American movie audi |
ence for its screen entertainment All |
other producers of films enter the
market place by grace of these COM
Danies."
Four Men Dominate
Magazine Field
Mr.. Ernst does not include maya
zines in these statistics Let us ask
what control over the for
nation of public opinion is exercised
Dy four men in the magazine field
These men are Henry Luce thine,
Life,) Dewitt Wallace, (Readers' Di-
sest,) w. R. Hearst, Good House
keeping, Cosmopolitan and the pub
Usher of the Saturday Evening Post.
The controlled press and radio of
Montana is not an isolated case. These
conditions prevail in every state in
he union. Mr.. Ernst calls for national
lebate on these facts and on the wal
les of concentrated control by all too
ew people over the minds of 1873 mil
ion people"
/ believe the people are taking a
irst step toward improving the condi-
ions of the market places of thought
when they flood the desks of editors
With their own opinions, factual testi-
nony that they are not swallowing the
arefully pre-digested contents of the
'nly papers which they find available
Abraham Lincoln said, "If you once
orfeit the confidence of your fellow
itizens you can never regain their
aspect and esteem. 1t is true that
'ou may fool all the people some of
he time; you can even fool some of
he people all the time; but you can't
DOL all of the people all the time"
p. T. Barnum also made a famous
emark to the effect that there is a
ucker born every second. Barnum
yas great Snowman and he did an
Impressive job of cashing in on the
redulity of people. Lincoln was a :