Crime Is On TV, But TV is Often The Bigger Crime

CRIME IS ON TV, BUT TV IS OFTEN THE BIGGER CRIME
[SOURCE: MediaChannel, AUTHOR: Danny Schechter]
[Commentary] You just know this happens. A group of media mavens in suits sit around a big table to come up with new ways to get us to pay for stuff we already get for free. The airwaves, as we know, belong to all of us, but thanks to regulations shaped by big industries, they were allocated (ie. handed out) FOR FREE to big commercial enterprises who then used their clout to monopolize the marketplace and dominate the spectrum. Cable was conceived as a Community Antenna system (CATV) to help viewers get better reception. Franchises were handed out to the highest bidder in city after city to bidders who made healthy political contributions. Suddenly we were bombarded with tons of choices but without many distinctive new voices. It became largely a market-driven recycling operation aimed at key demographics. Public TV watched as its nature programs and historical docs were cloned and spun off by specialized commercial outlets. Home shopping became a vogue and recycled news a commodity. There was soon more on the air but less to watch. Now there are 500 channels with very little worth watching. Now, the cable giants want to erode and end what few public interest obligations they have. Today, there is a new fight underway to keep the Internet free. We have to find a way to fight for better media—to push for reform and build unified campaigns for more responsible journalism.
http://www.mediachannel.org/articles/2006/10/18/Crime_Is_On.html