MEDIA OWNERSHIP

Nearly 60 years ago, the Supreme Court declared that "the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public, that a free press is essential to the condition of a free society." 

Unfortunately today, a handful of huge multinational conglomerates control more and more of what we hear, read, and see.  A mere five companies own the broadcast networks and many of the top 50 cable networks, produce three-quarters of all prime-time programming, and control 70 percent of the prime time-television market share.  At the same time, one-third of America's independently-owned television stations have vanished since 1975.  The story for diversity of views and ownership on the radio is no better. 

In addition, while the Internet offers a great opportunity for a diversity of voices, a small handful of large companies control much of the Internet’s infrastructure and are trying to eliminate the principal of “net neutrality,” stifling the easy sharing of information.  This would be bad for the Internet, bad for the exchange of a diverse set of views, and bad for democracy.
            
Media consolidation suppresses diversity and ignores the needs and interests of communities.  For example, the FCC has concluded that local ownership leads to more local news.  It issued a report - which some senior officials tried to suppress - that stated that locally-owned broadcasters devote, on average, an additional 20 to 25 percent of their newscasts to local news stories.  That translates to approximately 5.5 more minutes per half-hour broadcast.

Senator Sanders has been a leader in the fight to stop media consolidation and return public interest obligations to broadcasters. We need programming that is responsive to local needs and responsible to the people.  In the Senate, Sanders continues to work hard to make sure that we hold all media companies responsible for providing content that serves the public and offers a diverse range of opinions.  Senator Sanders is opposed to FCC attempts to gut the ban that prohibits a local newspaper from owning TV and radio stations in the same market. The new rules will further consolidate local media markets - taking away independent voices in cities already woefully short on local news and substantive journalism.  He joined his colleagues in trying to block the FCC’s action on these rules and supports efforts to overturn them in Congress and through the courts.

Free Press
http://www.freepress.net/

Consumers Union’s activist website
http://www.hearusnow.org/

Public Knowledge
www.publicknowledge.org

Learn more about Senator Sanders’ efforts to stop media consolidation :