Clear Channel and the Cultural and Socio-Political Ramifications of Med

Clear Channel and the Cultural and Socio-Political Ramifications of Media Consolidation I.INTRODUCTION In 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act thereby lifting restrictions on media ownership that had been in place for over sixty years (Moyers 2003; Bagdikian 2000: xviii). It was now possible for a single media company to own not just two radio stations in any given local market, but eight. On the national level, there was no longer any limit on the number of stations a company could own – the Act abandoned the previous nation-wide ownership cap of forty stations (20 FM and 20 AM). This â€Å"anti-regulatory sentiment in government† has continued and in 2004 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a new rule that would allow corporations to own â€Å"45 percent of the media in a single market, up from [the] 35 percent† established by the 1996 Act (Croteau & Hoynes 2001: 30; AFL-CIO 2004). Companies can now also own both a newspaper and a television station in the same city (AFL-CIO 2004). This deregulation has led to a frenzied wave of mergers – most notably the Viacom/CBS merger in 1999, the largest in history (Croteau & Hoynes 2001: 21). Ownership of the media has rapidly consolidated into fewer and fewer hands as companies have moved to gobble up newspapers, television stations, and radio stations across the country. Perhaps no other company has benefited more from this deregulation than the company which is the focus of this essay – Clear Channel Communications, Inc (CC). The Telecommunications Act and the actions of the FCC paved the way for the rise of this radio industry behemoth. In 1995, the company owned 43 radio stations nationwide. By 2002, it owned 1,239, making it the largest radio company in th... ...in Dubious Times. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. McChesney, Robert W. and John Nichols. 2002. Our Media, Not Theirs: The Democratic Struggle Against Corporate Media. New York: Seven Stories Press. Moyers, Bill. 2003. â€Å"Transcript: Bill Moyers Interviews Larry Klayman.† NOW: With Bill Moyers, July 11. Retrieved November 4, 2004 (http://www.pbs.org/now/printable/transcript_clearc_print.html). Open Secrets. 2004. â€Å"TV/Radio Stations: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates and Parties.† Retrieved October 7, 2004 (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=C2100). Spivak, Laurie. 2004. â€Å"Culture War May find WMD.† Retrieved October 2, 2004 (http://www.alternet.org/story/18090). Turner, Ted. 2003. â€Å"Monopoly of Democracy?† The Washington Post, May 30. Retrieved October 28, 2004 (http://washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A56132-2003May29?language=printer). Clear Channel and the Cultural and Socio-Political Ramifications of Med Clear Channel and the Cultural and Socio-Political Ramifications of Media Consolidation I.INTRODUCTION In 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act thereby lifting restrictions on media ownership that had been in place for over sixty years (Moyers 2003; Bagdikian 2000: xviii). It was now possible for a single media company to own not just two radio stations in any given local market, but eight. On the national level, there was no longer any limit on the number of stations a company could own – the Act abandoned the previous nation-wide ownership cap of forty stations (20 FM and 20 AM). This â€Å"anti-regulatory sentiment in government† has continued and in 2004 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a new rule that would allow corporations to own â€Å"45 percent of the media in a single market, up from [the] 35 percent† established by the 1996 Act (Croteau & Hoynes 2001: 30; AFL-CIO 2004). Companies can now also own both a newspaper and a television station in the same city (AFL-CIO 2004). This deregulation has led to a frenzied wave of mergers – most notably the Viacom/CBS merger in 1999, the largest in history (Croteau & Hoynes 2001: 21). Ownership of the media has rapidly consolidated into fewer and fewer hands as companies have moved to gobble up newspapers, television stations, and radio stations across the country. Perhaps no other company has benefited more from this deregulation than the company which is the focus of this essay – Clear Channel Communications, Inc (CC). The Telecommunications Act and the actions of the FCC paved the way for the rise of this radio industry behemoth. In 1995, the company owned 43 radio stations nationwide. By 2002, it owned 1,239, making it the largest radio company in th... ...in Dubious Times. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. McChesney, Robert W. and John Nichols. 2002. Our Media, Not Theirs: The Democratic Struggle Against Corporate Media. New York: Seven Stories Press. Moyers, Bill. 2003. â€Å"Transcript: Bill Moyers Interviews Larry Klayman.† NOW: With Bill Moyers, July 11. Retrieved November 4, 2004 (http://www.pbs.org/now/printable/transcript_clearc_print.html). Open Secrets. 2004. â€Å"TV/Radio Stations: Top Contributors to Federal Candidates and Parties.† Retrieved October 7, 2004 (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.asp?Ind=C2100). Spivak, Laurie. 2004. â€Å"Culture War May find WMD.† Retrieved October 2, 2004 (http://www.alternet.org/story/18090). Turner, Ted. 2003. â€Å"Monopoly of Democracy?† The Washington Post, May 30. Retrieved October 28, 2004 (http://washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A56132-2003May29?language=printer).