The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states that the government cannot infringe upon the freedom of speech and media’s press coverage, but in recent years the government seems more determined to censor what is released in the media. According to free-lance journalist, Edward Bishop, “there is … a closeness between journalism and the government that most people would be shocked if they knew about” (Csapó-Sweet and Kopper, 2001, 19:50). The media allows people a way to express themselves freely and is a means of informing people what is going on in the world. Addressing the issue of corporate ownership in the media is much more important than it appears to be; to take down corporate ownership would help maintain the circulation
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In 1970, the FCC adopted its prohibition of cross-media ownership between FM radio stations and television stations within the same market. The FCC under the Nixon Administration prohibited newspaper cross ownership of radio or television stations (Yanich, 2014). When the Commission adopted the rule, it grandfathered newspaper/broadcast combinations in many markets, forcing dispossession only in highly concentrated markets. As a result, approximately seventy grandfathered newspaper/broadcast combinations continue to exist today. Until the early 1990s, the FCC entirely prohibited common ownership of multiple AM or FM stations within the same market. In 1989, the FCC adopted a presumptive waiver policy to permit certain radio/TV combinations. In 1999, the FCC further relaxed its rule, allowing radio/TV combinations under certain conditions primarily involving the existence of at least eight independently owned media voices (Green, 2011, p. …show more content…
When it comes to corporate ownership of different media outlets, the FCC is turning a blind eye to what is happening around the country. News stations are being censored according to what the corporations want the public to see. Corporations are mainly showing American citizens news that will benefit their company’s ambitions and not thinking about how it will impact the average American. The FCC needs to stop big business from controlling the media. The government is responsible for protecting its citizens, and I for one do not feel like I my rights and freedoms are completely safe. I do not want to be controlled by a business. I do not want my children to be influenced by the things they see on television. I want the media to be independently owned not by a company, but rather one person from within that media outlet. In order to take down corporate ownership, the government needs to enforce the regulations they have had set in place for over seventy years ago, the American public needs to become educated on what is going on around them, and the censorship of the media by these corporations must end. If something is not done soon, Big Brother will appear, and sooner than we
In 1970, the FCC adopted its prohibition of cross-media ownership between FM radio stations and television stations within the same market. The FCC under the Nixon Administration prohibited newspaper cross ownership of radio or television stations (Yanich, 2014). When the Commission adopted the rule, it grandfathered newspaper/broadcast combinations in many markets, forcing dispossession only in highly concentrated markets. As a result, approximately seventy grandfathered newspaper/broadcast combinations continue to exist today. Until the early 1990s, the FCC entirely prohibited common ownership of multiple AM or FM stations within the same market. In 1989, the FCC adopted a presumptive waiver policy to permit certain radio/TV combinations. In 1999, the FCC further relaxed its rule, allowing radio/TV combinations under certain conditions primarily involving the existence of at least eight independently owned media voices (Green, 2011, p. …show more content…
When it comes to corporate ownership of different media outlets, the FCC is turning a blind eye to what is happening around the country. News stations are being censored according to what the corporations want the public to see. Corporations are mainly showing American citizens news that will benefit their company’s ambitions and not thinking about how it will impact the average American. The FCC needs to stop big business from controlling the media. The government is responsible for protecting its citizens, and I for one do not feel like I my rights and freedoms are completely safe. I do not want to be controlled by a business. I do not want my children to be influenced by the things they see on television. I want the media to be independently owned not by a company, but rather one person from within that media outlet. In order to take down corporate ownership, the government needs to enforce the regulations they have had set in place for over seventy years ago, the American public needs to become educated on what is going on around them, and the censorship of the media by these corporations must end. If something is not done soon, Big Brother will appear, and sooner than we