The media is the bridge between the government and the people. It is the institution responsible for telling the truth when the government fails to do so. There isn’t any group that has a more important voice in the success or failure of democratic institutions than the media. Before the days of our multi-media giants, there were many outlets to choose from, many ideas to look at and decide what the truth is. It is the responsibility of the media to question whatever the government says.
Today with the multi-media giants we are limited to the amount of investigative reporting that is done, and they seem to report what they want to, to advance their own selfish ends. Their advertising dollars come from the same people that lobby congress to advance their agenda regardless of the effect these decisions have on America.
The media is sacrosanct and should not be subject to the capitalistic system. We need new rules with regards to the size of media corporations. Speaking of corporations, they are the last group I want to be determining what I hear or read about. Once the media is under the control of a selective few individuals we stop receiving the information we need to make educated decisions. We are what we believe and if we don’t have a free press we are not a free people.
Since we can’t solve the problem of monopolizing the media, the problem should be eliminated. An individual or individual corporation can own only one TV station or radio station or newspaper. This way we will be guaranteed that every opinion will be heard and not be monopolized by a few select zillionaires. There is only one way that democracies can flourish and that is with a free press. That the rules of capitalism don’t apply to the media is one of the sacrifices that we have to make in order to insure that all opinions are heard and that we remain free. To allow someone who is not an American citizen to own any media outlets in our country should not be allowed. You have to be American to own American media. Our elections seem to be a big boost to the revenue coffers of our giant media corporations. This practice will end and the media will air the candidates opinions for free as a service and appreciation of their opportunity to serve their country. Maybe their profit margins might suffer, but the people that are in the media, like school teachers and firemen and policemen don’t do their jobs for the big bucks, they do it because they love their jobs and want to contribute in a substantial way to the improvement of their communities and country.
The Brooks Report 