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Morning Open Thread: Rupert Murdoch Owns NYC |
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Rupert Murdoch is trying to buy Newsday, further consolidating the media landscape, especially in New York City:
The purchase of Newsday from the Tribune Company would put Mr. Murdoch in control of 3 of the nation’s 10 largest-circulation papers (the others being The Journal and The New York Post). Owning Newsday, which is based on Long Island, would also open an eastern front in the long-running battle for New York tabloid supremacy and, by combining some operations, could allow News Corporation to end decades of heavy losses by The Post.
If the deal goes through, on top of owning three New York newspapers, Murdoch also would control two New York City television stations, WNYW and WWOR (both Fox affiliates). That means on a given day, one man would be able to reach 3,251,229 people per day through newspapers alone, plus millions more through the dual TV stations.
Murdoch, the owner of News Corp. and Fox News, among others, is a known conservative personality who has admitted to controlling the editorial slant of his media outlets, will be able to push his message on millions.
Of course, technically, this deal is illegal:
As he nears completion of a deal to acquire Newsday from the Tribune Company, Rupert Murdoch appears likely to pose the first significant challenge to the media ownership rule that the Federal Communications Commission recently adopted.
Even without Newsday, Mr. Murdoch was in the process of seeking waivers to continue to control two newspapers (The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post) and two television stations (WNYW and WWOR) in the New York area.
With those waiver requests pending at the F.C.C., the Newsday deal means that Mr. Murdoch must now apply for a waiver to own the two television stations and three newspapers in the same market.
The new rule, approved by a deeply divided commission in December, permits a company to own just one paper and one television station in the same city in the top 20 markets so long as there are at least eight other independent sources of news and the station is not in the top four. (The stations controlled by News Corporation are the fourth- and sixth-largest in the New York market.)
Now, whether the FCC will actually uphold the rules they adopted is another question. They've been pretty generous with waivers in the past, usually giving media companies everything they ask for.
So, folks, I put the question to you: Is it OK that Murdoch controls the news and information that reach so many people? Does it strike anyone else as inherently undemocratic?
I urge you all to e-mail the commissioners of the FCC and let them know that you are against any further dilution of the media in New York City, or anywhere else for that matter. The law is supposed to stand for something, not constantly play catch up to the reality on the ground.
Forgot their email addresses:
Chairman Kevin J. Martin: KJMWEB@fcc.gov
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov
Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate: dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov
Commissioner Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov
what strikes me as undemocratic is when people try to tell companies what they can and cannot do.
there are other sources of news in the city, on TV, and tons on the internet. let Murdoch decide what's best for his company; the world will not end with his buying Newsday. we can find other news outlets if we really don't like his content. and guess what? the popularity will falter, he won't make as much money from advertisements, and the company will fail…if this deal is as detrimental as people are claiming
Tell me, because I've forgotten. When did companies become people? Because last time I looked, being democratic was about people, not corporations.