It's a Google World, We Just Live in It

This video is a little creepy. And if you think you're eluding the Google beast. . .hello! This blog is hosted by Blogger. . .a Google company. My question is, how do they keep making all of these free services, and still be worth so much money?

Murdoch Media Monopoly... Nope, not yet...

Photo of 'Murdoch in the bush' Courtesy of Satan
Well Mr. Moneybags was out smarted on this one. Good. That will be one less opportunity for a foreigner to control & destroy our (and I say this laughingly) freedom of press, assembly & speech.

Story courtesy of the AP via MSNBC
NEW YORK - News Corp., the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has withdrawn its bid to purchase the Long Island daily paper Newsday, a News Corp. spokeswoman said Saturday.

The decision to revoke the offer came just days after Murdoch confidently predicted he would clinch a deal to buy the newspaper within a week.

...more at MSNBC

Sirius and XM Satellite Radio Companies to Merge

Image from source, CNN Money

I don't have, never have had, and have no desire for satellite radio. I already pay a friggin' fortune for the rest of my entertainment choices, and that is just one step to far for me. So, I really have no dog in this fight.

But the argument that it doesn't cut competition when the only two satellite radio companies in the United States merge, I gotta call bull shit.

[Excerpt]

XM-Sirius merger approved by DOJ

The U.S. Justice Department approved the merger between satellite radio companies Sirius and XM Monday, more than a year after the two companies first announced their deal.

But for fans of Howard Stern, Opie & Anthony and other Sirius and XM on-air personalities, there are still many questions about how much a combined Sirius-XM service will cost and what programs they'll be able to hear. Plus, Sirius and XM face one more regulatory hurdle before the deal can officially be completed. . .

Read more at: CNN Money

FCC Votes to Allow Further Consolidation

After yesterday's wonderful news of Chris Dodd's successful scuttling (for now) of the FISA/Telecom Immunity measure, this news is more than a bit of a downer. I thought maybe, just maybe we were on a roll or something.

Allowing media giants to even further consolidate serves no public purpose. All it does is allow already rich companies to get richer and for fewer people to control media messages. Sorry, but no matter how you slice it, this sucks.

[Excerpt]

FCC agrees to new media ownership reform

The Federal Communications Commission, overturning a 32-year-old ban, voted Tuesday to allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was joined by his two Republican colleagues in favor of the proposal, while the commission's two Democrats voted against it. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

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Rupert Murdoch Wins: Wall Street Journal His

Another quickie before I have to go. One that gets me a little steamed. . .

[Excerpt]

Dow Jones shareholders approve News Corp buyout

Dow Jones & Co Inc shareholders voted to approve a $5.6 billion buyout by News Corp on Thursday, giving Rupert Murdoch control of one of the world's most influential newspapers, the Wall Street Journal. . .

Shareholders controlling 60.27 percent of Dow Jones' voting power approved the deal, priced at $60 per share. . .

Read more at: Reuters

Puzzling FCC Consolidation Changes

Photo of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, from source, Raw Story

I remember social studies classes back in elementary and junior high schools, learning about the early 1900s. Much attention was paid to trust busting, regulation of industry, eliminating worker abuses, things like that. The picture painted for us, was of corporations gone wild, but reigned in just in time. While I was learning all of that, Jimmy Carter led the charge to break up AT&T into the "Baby Bells."

In short, this kid of the 70s learned that monopolies are bad, and that corporations had to be overseen with a watchful eye, because greed always leads to bad things. A kid from the 80s, 90s and 2000s might not see that at all. Virtually every corporate category has experienced virtually unfettered consolidation and mergers. Here in Las Vegas for example, almost all of the major resorts on the strip are owned by one of two companies, Harrah's Entertainment and MGM/Mirage.

Curiously, the Bush Administration, and the regulating agencies it heads seem to want to return to the corporate climate of over 100 years ago. Do they forget that it was Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican icon, who was championed as a "Trust Buster?"

[Excerpt]

PBS' Moyers on planned media consolidation rule change: FCC/industry 'revolving door' moves to further give away your airwaves

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was heavily criticized by members of the public, along with his colleagues, at the sixth and final public hearing, held on November 9, 2007, on his planned changes to rules on media consolidation.

Input from the public, leading up to the vote, is being accepted until December 11, 2007.
Attendees were heavily suspicious of the short notice given, five business days, as a tactic to prevent more of the public from learning about the hearings, as well as being able to attend and provide input in an already short time window before the commission's vote takes place. . .

Read more at: Raw Story