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For reporting that is an embarrassment to the profession of journalism, and for being beholden to corporate paymasters rather than the citizens of America.
BuzzFlash readers know that you don't have to be
a media "personality" to
be a Media Putz. Take, for instance, Federal Communications
Commission Chairperson and Bush "Made Man" Kevin
Martin.
Martin heads the United States regulatory agency that determines
what rules media will have to abide by in our democracy. Being
a loyal Bushevik, Martin believes that media companies are
just businesses, and as such should be allowed to acquire as
many assets (other media companies) as they desire.
This is known as deregulation, or by its result: big media
consolidation.
On Tuesday, December 18, as expected, Martin and his two other
Republican votes rammed
down the Commission's throat, despite
Congressional opposition, more media deregulation. (The two
Democratic members of the Commission, Michael Copps and Jonathan
Adelstein, have been magnificent supporters
of diverse media ownership
and maintaining multiple news outlets with community roots.)
Make no mistake that the consolidation of media ownership (think
Rupert Murdoch) is a top priority on the Bush Administration
wish list. Bigger media companies mean bigger multi-billion
dollar businesses that look to GOP governance to provide regulatory
relief, tax breaks, and exemptions from anti-trust laws, among
other financial breaks. In return, big media goes soft on White
House coverage (if a Republican lives there) and tends to echo
the message points of the RNC and WH press office.
In short, your career as a "journalist" goes down
the tubes (with rare exception) in big media companies if you
report the "story behind the story" when it comes
to Republican administrations, because corporate parents need
the GOP to help their companies become more profitable.
So what Martin and his Republican majority on the FCC do is
protect the interests of mega-parent corporations, who then
provide the Republican executive branch and pro-business Congressional
legislators with favorable coverage -- as well as campaign
contributions. This was also the goal of Martin's predecessor,
Michael Powell.
As BuzzFlash Media Putz nominator Philip David Morgan of Saint
James, New York, observed: "Not only did he [Martin] promise
a vote to repeal the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership ban
that prevented local newspapers from owning a radio or TV station
in the same market -- but, by a 3 to 2 vote, he and his colleagues
at the FCC delivered on that promise. Worse, the FCC granted
forty-two permanent wavers (that's 42, folks) to those media
giants who were already flaunting the rules. If that isn't
betraying the public interest -- which the FCC used to uphold
in decades past -- then I'm not sure what is."
Media deregulation and consolidation is the carbon monoxide
poisoning of democracy. You can't smell it, but it's deadly
to honest and unbiased news coverage.
In short, Martin is the granddaddy of Media Putzes because
he is continuing the GOP tradition of creating the business
climate for all the on-air and print Media Putzes who do the
bidding of big corporations that shill for the White House.
He knows the score and the stakes. After all, Martin served
as the deputy general counsel to the Bush-Cheney recount team
in Florida.
Kevin Martin, you do Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes proud. You
should make it official and have your own show on FOX, just
call it "Media Putz Kingmaker on the Air."
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