How does one create diversity when you let big fish eat more little fish? I just don't understand the last few things about of the Bush administration.
Tax cuts creates jobs? Loosening restrictions on media ownership creates diversity?
I think the FCC needs an overhaul. Although, this decision follows with their last brilliant idea of letting phone companies close off their lines to 3rd parties. That is supposed to increase competition?
I would have have cable and phone lines open to 3rd parties. That would create competition. As it stands now there will be 2 gated communities for broadband, DLS and cable modems, and you will get about 90% of the media content from 3-5 megacorps.
Oh, wait the internet is supposed to the check to the media concentration. But what about companies like AOL-TimeWarner that own media and cable?
The consumer is well represented in our government.
It's not about letting the big fish eat the little fish; it's actually about letting new little fish come up and compete on the same playing field. An unfortunate side effect is sometimes the big guys win, but that is not always the case. Everything big started out as an underdog. If we didn't have government help and government hindrance, the truly best products and services could actually win.
When we start making laws that specifically acknowledge certain industries and companies, we enshrine forever the state of the art and actually impede progress. We're so busy regulating the old way to do it that there's no way to fit new innovation in under existing laws.
Everywhere I look I see people wanting to treat me differently from a big company. Sometimes that's because they don't want the big company to eat me, but more often than not it's because the big company has special rights that I don't. Journalism isn't something every American can engage in; it's just a special privilege of the media outlets. Recording artistry is the same way. Broadcasting. And on, and on. One might wonder if the big companies don't subtly encourage us to think that these laws "protect" us in order to actually continue to secure government preference.
I know you'll probably disagree, but I see no solution other than to pull the government's hands off and let the chips fall where they may.
