How Clear Channel Spoiled The Media Deregulation Party
from the and-so-it-goes... dept
Salon has yet another article focused on radio behemoth, Clear Channel. Instead of just talking about how evil Clear Channel is for music fans, radio stations, or musicians, this article talks about how it's spoiled the media deregulation party. Other forms of media such as broadcasters and newspapers want very badly to be deregulated so they have the same opportunity to suck the life dry out of their own industries, while building up a mammoth media company focused on the lowest common denominator (with the largest single wallet). Such deregulation should be a no-brainer. Republicans are in control and they generally favor deregulation. Michael Powell, over at the FCC, is a big fan of deregulation. But, Clear Channel is mucking everything up. They're in a business that's been deregulated, and they're the poster child of what can go wrong in a deregulated media world. That example alone is making plenty of people pause when it comes to deregulating other media outlets.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team