![]() ![]() In a media world that is going through a massive transformation, media companies have dramatically increased efforts to wield influence in Washington, with a massive lobbying presence and a steady dose of campaign donations to politicians in both parties - with the goal of allowing more consolidation, and privatizing and commodifying the internet. It serves as a stern warning about what is at stake in the future. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is not merely a regrettable part of history. Bill Clinton’s legacy in empowering the consolidation of corporate media is right up there with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and welfare reform, as being among the most tragic and destructive policies of his administration. Twenty years later the devastating impact of the legislation is undeniable: About 90 percent of the country’s major media companies are owned by six corporations. “Never have so many been held incommunicado by so few,” said Eduardo Galeano, the Latin-American journalist, in response to the act. ![]() The law, which was the first major reform of telecommunications policy since 1934, according to media scholar Robert McChesney, “is widely considered to be one of the three or four most important federal laws of this generation.” The act dramatically reduced important Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on cross ownership, and allowed giant corporations to buy up thousands of media outlets across the country, increasing their monopoly on the flow of information in the United States and around the world. The negative impact of the law cannot be overstated. The act, signed into law on February 8, 1996, was “essentially bought and paid for by corporate media lobbies,” as Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) described it, and radically “opened the floodgates on mergers.” Twenty years ago last month, President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. If Presidential Candidates Love the Internet, They Need to Set It Freeīut now is a good time to discuss our growing media crises. ![]()
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