Big Media and the Imus ‘Accident’
Wally Bowen of Asheville’s Mountain Area Information Network today makes a strong case that Imus and other mainstream “shock jocks” are the ugly byproducts of a conglomerate-ruled broadcasting system that has failed to foster diversity in local media.
Radio and TV broadcasters have been given free access to public airwaves valued at more than $500 billion, he writes in today’s Asheville Citizen Times. In return for free licenses, broadcasters are required to demonstrate to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and their broadcast community that they are fulfilling stated public interest obligations.
But the FCC has done the opposite by allowing fewer and fewer companies to control more and more licenses.
“This is like the Division of Motor Vehicles removing speed and vehicle-size limits on our highways, while allowing a handful of trucking companies to own most of the vehicle licenses. It’s only a matter of time until a spectacular accident occurs,” writes Bowen, who also founded Asheville’s low-power FM station WPVN.
As we have said before, the Imus “accident” points to this systemic problem in our media: Most of our TV and radio stations are owned by giant corporate conglomerates. A tiny percentage of licensed stations are owned by people of color or women. This imbalance spawns mainstream media that don’t represent the views of most Americans — and make huge profits off the public airwaves.
In fact, Free Press did a little snooping and found that none of the more than 60 stations that aired “Imus In The Morning” at the time of its cancelation were owned by minorities. Stations that aired his talk show were more likely to be owned by large group owners — companies that own stations in multiple markets or own more than three stations in a single market.
“Wall Street and Madison Avenue require a highly-centralized media system in order to aggregate audiences for advertisers,” Bowen adds. “While this system is hugely profitable for Wall Street, its bankruptcy for our democracy and common culture is self-evident.”
Unlike local owners, national conglomerates are less likely to be responsive to the complaints of individual local listeners. The national owners are often hundreds of miles away, and likely have never even set foot in the communities where they control the airwaves.
And when you lose touch with your listeners and abuse your license to their airwaves, you’re more likely to crash.
