Political Quotes

“it goes without saying that media is a major force in our society. Some people even blame our crime problems, our moral decay on the media. Now, I am not willing to go that far, but I am concerned about putting the control of our ideas and messages in the hands of fewer and fewer people in this country. Right now the national audience capture is 25 percent. That seems appropriate to me in light of the fact that there is no network that reaches 25 percent, but certainly 35 percent is a reasonable compromise. There is no reason to double the concentration to 50 percent. I think 35 percent is certainly appropriate. We talk about small business. Mr. Chairman, this bill goes in the exact opposite direction. Even big businesses may not be able to get into the market if we pass this legislation. It is clearly a barrier to market interests. In fact, 10 years ago if this bill had been in place Fox television probably could not have gotten started. It represents a threat to local broadcast decisions. Please vote with the Markey amendment.”