Re-regulating media

The next time you hear big broadcast media corporations complaining that they need more deregulation, what they're really saying is they want re-regulation that benefits them, improves their bottom line, not your interests, not your pocketbook, not your democracy.

Robert McChesney on the Aug. 5th episode of PBS' Now:

This idea of deregulation--I mean, who's not in favor of deregulation? I don't wanna be regulated. It sounds great. It's a gushy word. It gives you a warm feeling. But, it's very misleading. There is no such thing as deregulation in media.

For example, radio and TV are all monopoly licenses given out by the government to private firms, or to public broadcasters. They have monopoly access to frequencies. Now, in the case of radio they say they deregulated it when they allowed companies to own more and more of these monopoly licenses.

That's not deregulated it. That's just regulating it on behalf of the big radio companies, the big media companies. If you go out and try to broadcast on one of these monopoly licenses that Clear Channel has, you'd get thrown in jail. That's regulation. That's not a deregulated place where anyone can broadcast on the airwaves. So, we don't have deregulation. We never will have deregulation. Policies are fundamental to a media system.

Even if you wanted a free market system-- even if you woke up with a copy of Milton Freedman taped to your chest and said, "I want a free market system," it would take extensive government policies to create a free market system.