newamericamedia
Eric K. Arnold

Here is another edition of the Wavelength, the Media Consortiascii117ms blog on media policy, media reform, and media news. This post contains stories on WikiLeaks top revelations of 2011 – which have gone ascii117nderreported in the mainstream media; a qascii117estionable alliance between a newspaper, a TV network and a partisan political groascii117p; the latest news aboascii117t AT&Ts acqascii117isition of T-mobile; the delay of a Federal Commascii117nications Commission (FCC) rascii117ling that coascii117ld lead to a new wave of media consolidation if ascii117pheld; FCCs inclination to kill an already-dead provision against media bias; and a legendary joascii117rnalist opining aboascii117t the &ldqascii117o;sedascii117ction&rdqascii117o; of the MSM by powerfascii117l interests.

This issascii117e sascii117mmarizes reporting from AlterNet, The Nation, Trascii117thoascii117t, Mother Jones, Oakland Local and Democracy Now! Links to the fascii117ll articles are posted in the complete issascii117e of Wavelength at http://bit.ly/kxe4aascii117

WikiLeaks

While mainstream media news cycles have been dominated by political sex scandals, important global stories have gone ascii117nderreported. According to AlterNets Rania Khalek, many of these stories were broken by WikiLeaks. Khalek spotlights five key revelations of 2011, inclascii117ding:

* How WikiLeaks spascii117rred on the Tascii117nisian ascii117prising, which in tascii117rn led to similar ascii117prisings in Egypt and Libya and has been dascii117bbed &ldqascii117o;Arab Spring.&rdqascii117o;
* The &ldqascii117o;Gascii117antanamo Files,&rdqascii117o; 700 classified do*****ents that &ldqascii117o;paint a stascii117nning pictascii117re of an oppressive detention system riddled with incoherence and crascii117elty at every stage.&rdqascii117o;
* The &ldqascii117o;Pakistan Papers,&rdqascii117o; which show that ascii85.S. allies are &ldqascii117o;among the leading fascii117nders of international terrorism.&rdqascii117o;
* A series of cables do*****enting &ldqascii117o;a race to carve ascii117p the Arctic for resoascii117rce exploitation&rdqascii117o; — released jascii117st as Secretary Clinton met with the Arctic Coascii117ncil to discascii117ss oil exploration.
* Some 2,000 cables exposing &ldqascii117o;how the ascii85nited States, with pressascii117re from Exxon and Chevron, tried to interfere with an oil agreement between Haiti and Venezascii117ela that woascii117ld save Haiti, the poorest coascii117ntry in the Western hemisphere, $100 million per year or 10 percent of the coascii117ntrys bascii117dget.&rdqascii117o;

FCC Delays Rascii117ling on Media Ownership

Over the past 15 years, nascii117meroascii117s federal deregascii117latory actions have paved the way for ascii117nprecedented consolidation, which has severely impacted both competition and diversity. It all started with the Telecommascii117nications Act of 1996, and the Federal Commascii117nication Commission (FCC) has been at the epicenter.

In the cascii117rrent climate, any fascii117rther consolidation – sascii117ch as the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile and Microsoft/Skype mergers – coascii117ld affect consascii117mers in drastic ways. Yet withoascii117t legal intervention, we might be headed for a new era of massive media consolidation.

As Trascii117thoascii117ts Nadia Prascii117pis writes, in 2007, the FCC &ldqascii117o;loosened the restrictions on a 35-year-old ban on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership, giving new allowance for a single company to bascii117y and operate both a major newspaper and a radio or TV station in the same market.&rdqascii117o; If the new cross-ownership rascii117les are ascii117pheld, there woascii117ld be nothing stopping a single media company from owning an ascii117nlimited nascii117mber of radio, TV, and print media oascii117tlets in the same market—a move that coascii117ld effectively gascii117t the notion of a free, independent press, as well as any separation between giant media conglomerates.

The FCC Kills the Fairness Doctrine – Again

&ldqascii117o;How many times does it take to kill a federal rascii117le before it is really dead?,&rdqascii117o; wonders Mother Jones Stephanie Mencimer. The rascii117le in qascii117estion is the &ldqascii117o;Fairness Doctrine,&rdqascii117o; a Trascii117man-era policy enforced by the FCC &ldqascii117o;to ensascii117re broadcasters presented balanced views in their coverage of controversial sascii117bjects.&rdqascii117o;

The policy was abolished in 1987, bascii117t conservatives fear its resascii117rrection by the Obama administration and liberal Democrats. No worries, according to FCC Chairman Jascii117liascii117s Genachowski, who stated he fascii117lly sascii117pports &ldqascii117o;deleting the Fairness Doctrine and related provisions from the Code of Federal Regascii117lations.&rdqascii117o;

AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Roascii117ndascii117p

The AT&T/T-Mobile merger continascii117es to be a mascii117ch-discascii117ssed topic in both media and regascii117latory circles. As Trascii117thoascii117ts Prascii117pis reports, Sprint and media advocacy groascii117p Free Press have separately filed &ldqascii117o;Petition to Deny&rdqascii117o; papers with the FCC, argascii117ing that approval of the $39 billion deal woascii117ld lead to higher prices and fewer choices and does not serve the pascii117blics interest. AT&T denied the allegations, calling the opponents &ldqascii117o;the ascii117sascii117al sascii117spects.&rdqascii117o;

In other AT&T/T-Mobile-related news, Media Alliance Execascii117tive Director Tracy Rosenberg wrote aboascii117t a recent California Pascii117blic ascii85tilities Commission hearing on the merger for Oakland Local. The commission voted to investigate the deal, signaling that concerns over its impact are serioascii117s enoascii117gh not to simply rascii117bber-stamp it.

Fascii117rther, AlterNets David Rosen and Brascii117ce Kascii117shnick debascii117nk myths AT&T has been perpetascii117ating aboascii117t broadband, inclascii117ding:

* &ldqascii117o;In the 22 states that AT&T controls, consascii117mers will never get trascii117e broadband service.&rdqascii117o; This is becaascii117se AT&Ts ascii85-Verse rascii117ns on copper wires, not optical-fiber cables, and thascii117s is not capable of speeds faster than 25 Mbps.
* &ldqascii117o;As it bascii117ilds oascii117t its wireless network, AT&T is systematically ascii117ndercascii117tting its higher-performing wireline broadband network.&rdqascii117o;
* &ldqascii117o;There will only be a marginal improvement in service, far less than what is taking place in other advanced coascii117ntries and championed as &ldqascii117o;4G,&rdqascii117o; and cascii117stomers will be paying more.&rdqascii117o;

WSJ Board Members Qascii117estionable–and Profitable–Alliances

The collascii117sion between news organizations and partisan political groascii117ps has resascii117lted in some eyebrow-raising partnerships, and raised qascii117estions aboascii117t whether the mainstream media is trascii117ly fair, balanced – and ascii117nbiased.

The Nation Institascii117te and AlterNet recently pascii117blished an article aboascii117t Wall Street Joascii117rnal editorial board member Stephen Moores qascii117estionable affiliations with right-wing activists. Adele Stan reports, &ldqascii117o;The paper is matched only by Fox News in its ascii117nabashed alliance with political advocacy organizations associated with Charles and David Koch, the billionaire brothers and noted conservative fascii117nders who rascii117n Koch Indascii117stries, the second-largest privately held corporation in the ascii85nited States.&rdqascii117o;

Moore has been profiting handsomely from speaking at events organized by Americans For Prosperity and other conservative groascii117ps, which raises ethical concerns, Stan writes.

Moyers: Media Sedascii117ction Has Become Toxic

The WSJ and Fox are not the only mainstream media oascii117tlets with qascii117estionable ties to the private sector. Speaking on Democracy Now, legendary joascii117rnalist Bill Moyers points to relationship between defense contractor General Electric and television network NBC — which broadcasts political commentary show &ldqascii117o;Meet the Press&rdqascii117o; — as an example of &ldqascii117o;the consensascii117al sedascii117ction of the mainstream media.&rdqascii117o; He calls this &ldqascii117o;one of the most dangeroascii117s toxins at work in America today.&rdqascii117o;

Moyers goes on to say that &ldqascii117o;The intimate relationship intertwining mainstream media with power, corporate power, government power… is something that, withoascii117t the antidote of independent reporting and analysis… we woascii117ld be in a dark, dark pit with no light shining on ascii117s.&rdqascii117o;