Political Quotes

“in about 3 weeks, the Federal Communications Commission is poised to relax or eliminate some rules that are essential to the maintenance of a free press. Under long-standing FCC rules, giant media companies are limited as to how much control they can exert over any one medium market or any one medium generally. That is just good, common sense in American competition. But the Bush Federal Communications Commission is about to throw those sound public interest and market soundness principles out the window, allowing some of America's biggest companies to decide what you hear, when you hear it, what you see, and, in large part, what you think. This decision on the part of the Bush administration smacks of back-room politics at its worst. It is a story of how three commissioners are working with corporate-owned media conglomerates to expand their control over what news the public receives. Already one radio company out of Texas, and the owner happens to be a friend of the President, already owns 1,200 radio stations in this country, including a half dozen, at least a half dozen in almost every city in America. Now, these three commissioners are working with corporate-owned media conglomerates to expand their control over the airwaves; and in the process of their decision, there have been no public meetings, no time for elected officials or outside groups to comment on the proposed changes. That has been the FCC's mode of operation the last couple of years.”