[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 12, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      AN OPEN LETTER TO FCC CHAIRMAN MICHAEL POWELL REGARDING THE 
              CONSOLIDATION OF OWNERSHIP OF AMERICAN MEDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 2003

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I am enclosing a letter that I recently 
wrote to Michael Powell, Chairman of the FCC, regarding the growing 
consolidation of media ownership in America. This letter is especially 
relevant today as the FCC is now in the process of eliminating the few 
remaining regulations which would stop further consolidation of the 
industry.

                                                 February 27, 2003
       Dear Chairman Powell, let's be clear. One of the great 
     crises facing this country is that a handful of huge 
     corporations control the flow of information. Whether it is 
     television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books or the 
     Internet, fewer and fewer giant conglomerates are determining 
     what we see, hear and read. Unless we stop this trend and 
     create a media with much broader ownership and diversity of 
     opinion, it is not certain that democracy will survive in 
     this country. This is a major, major concern that must be 
     dealt with immediately. I fear very much that if we continue 
     down the path we're on, we will end up like the former Soviet 
     Union--a nation where there were many different news outlets, 
     but all were controlled by the same entity. The difference is 
     that in this country it will be multi-national corporations 
     who control the media, and not the government.
       Let me express my outrage that the FCC has chosen to have 
     only one public hearing on what is one of the most important 
     issues facing Americans today. Before any decisions are made 
     regarding deregulation and increased corporate control over 
     the media, the FCC must hear from the American people. In my 
     view, the FCC should hold at least twenty meetings across the 
     country to hear directly what ordinary the people have to 
     say. Having held two town meetings in the state of Vermont on 
     the issue of media consolidation, I can tell you first hand 
     that the people of this country want to be heard on this 
     issue. In Vermont, at the two public meetings that we held, 
     over 600 people came out. I guarantee that you will have huge 
     audiences all over the country and, let me take this 
     opportunity to invite you to Vermont. Please do not make a 
     decision without input from the people. Given what goes on in 
     Washington it may be hard to believe, but there are opinions 
     in this country which do not necessarily agree with Rupert 
     Murdoch, General Electric, the Disney Corporation.and other 
     large campaign contributors.
       Why do we want more de-regulation and more concentration of 
     ownership in the media. We should be moving in the other 
     direction--less concentration, more diverse ownership and 
     more points of view. Television is the means by which most 
     Americans get their ``news.'' Without exception, every major 
     network is owned by a huge conglomerate that has 
     enormous conflicts of interest. Fox News Channel is owned 
     by Rupert Murdoch, a right-wing billionaire who already 
     owns a significant portion of the world's media. His 
     network has close ties to the Republican Party, and among 
     his ``fair and balanced'' commentators is Newt Gingrich.
       NBC is owned by General Electric, one of the largest 
     corporations in the world and a company with enormous 
     conflicts of interest. GE has a long history of anti-union 
     activity. It has substantial interests in weapons 
     manufacturing, finance, nuclear power and many other 
     industries. It has vital concerns about our trade policy as 
     they have been one of the leaders in shutting down American 
     plants and moving them to low-wage countries like China and 
     Mexico. GE is also an important contributor to the Republican 
     Party.
       ABC is owned by the Disney Corp., which produces toys and 
     products in developing countries where they provide their 
     workers atrocious wages and working conditions. CBS is owned 
     by Viacom, another huge media conglomerate that owns, among 
     other entities, MTV, Showtime, Nickelodeon, VHI, TNN, CMT, 39 
     broadcast television stations, 184 radio stations, Paramount 
     Pictures and Blockbuster Inc.
       The essential problem with television is not just a right-
     wing corporate bias in news and programming, or the 
     transformation of politics and government into entertainment 
     and sensationalism. Nor is it just the constant bombardment 
     of advertising, much of it directed at children. It's that 
     the most important issues facing the middle-class and working 
     people of our country are rarely discussed. The average 
     American watches dozens of hours a week of television, but to 
     a very significant degree does not see his or her reality 
     reflected on the screen.
       In my strong opinion what the people of this country see, 
     hear and read should not be controlled by a handful of multi-
     national conglomerates. More concentration of ownership in 
     the media industry would be a disaster for this country. Stop 
     the deregulation, and begin hearings on how we can have more 
     diverse ownership and more divergent viewpoints on the public 
     airwaves. Democracy is too precious to be given over to 
     corporations interested only in growing bigger and more 
     profitable. The airwaves and cable-ways belong to the people, 
     and the interests of the people should be served.
       Thank you for your consideration.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Bernard Sanders,
     U.S. Congressman.

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