Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), has long been a leader in the fight for media reform. He is a founder of the Future of American Media caucus in the House, and he is a sponsor of the Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005 (MORA). In an article for The Hill last week, he reiterated the need for media ownership reform.
If enacted, MORA will be a significant step forward in establishing a more diverse and informative media environment. Among its provisions:
Reduces the number of radio stations one company can own in a given market and caps national ownership at 5 percent of stations.
Reinstates national television-station ownership limits, preventing one company from owning broadcast stations that reach more than 25 percent of American households. Current law allows for 39 percent national audience reach.
Reestablishes the Fairness Doctrine that the Reagan administration abolished in 1987
These measures are necessary and sensible. But they are only a beginning. Ultimately, the corporate media monopolies must be broken up the same way telecom, oil, and railroad monopolies were. The stark imbalance of power that monopolies wield, and their cozy fraternization with their political benefactors, make it impossible to settle for anything less than total divestment.
I think that I could support breaking up media monopolies.
I would certainly be in favor of media ownership reform. One company shouldn’t have so much influence over the media…
I’m 100% in favor of this legislation. I don’t feel it will pass with the GOP in charge, but for the 2006 campaigns…I wonder if this one could have traction. My guess is yes, as the state of news coverage in this country is a sad one.
The way to leverage the media for good is to challenge organizations by having them interpret what happens on their own. The event should take place, and then it should be reported. When perception is determined in a board room and diseminated across the country, politicians get away with too much.
Too many stories fall through the cracks.