Home > Programs
> Democracy
Now! > Mon., June 2, 2003
Democracy Now!
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown 6-02-03
PRSS Channel: A67.7
8:00-8:01 Billboard:
“George Bush has Indeed Succeeded in Granting Osama
Bin Laden a Wish Beyond his Wildest Dreams…He’s
Turned the U.S. into the Most Feared and Disliked and, in
Many Quarters, Most Hated Country in the World.”
INTRO: Renowned author, linguistics professor and one of
the leading dissident voices in the U.S., Noam Chomsky speaks
at the University of the District of Columbia.
8:01-8:06 Headlines
8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break
8:07-8:58 “George Bush has Indeed Succeeded in Granting
Osama Bin Laden a Wish Beyond his Wildest Dreams…He’s
Turned the U.S. into the Most Feared and Disliked and, in
Many Quarters, Most Hated Country in the World.” US
occupation forces in Iraq have abandoned plans to hold a national
congress to select an interim government.
Instead, the US will appoint a council of some 30 senior
figures who will shadow the US administration to prepare for
taking power.
Meanwhile resistance to the US occupation intensifies.
In Baghdad, gunmen firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault
rifles attacked an American military convoy yesterday. At
least one American soldier was wounded and one Iraqi civilian
killed in the firefight.
The assault followed a mortar attack on an American base
on the outskirts on the capital. One soldier was slightly
wounded.
According to the New York Times, it was the first mortar
attack in Baghdad since the end of the war.
In Basra, thousands of Iraqis poured into the streets to
protest a new local governing council that was put in place
by British occupation forces. The protestors denounced the
setup as undemocratic.
- Noam Chomsky, institute professor and professor of linguistics
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology speaking at
the University of the District of Columbia. He is the author
of 9-11, Power and Terror and many other books.
8:58-8:59 Outro and Credits
9:00-9:01 Billboard:
“The whole thing reeks of conflict of interest. To
begin the catalog of corruption here, you would have to do
a 24-hour marathon.”
INTRO: Robert McChesney, author of eight books on media
and politics, discusses the the inner-workings of the FCC
and the importance of media diversity.
Diverse Organizations from Around the Country Testify Against
Media Consolidation
INTRO: From the United Church of Christ to the National
Association of Black Journalists to Children Now, organizations
around the country speak out.
Democracy Now! Goes Live to the FCC Vote on Rules Governing
Media Consolidation
INTRO: FCC members prepare the way for the largest wave
of media consolidation in U.S. history.
9:01-9:06 Headlines
9:06-9:07 One Minute Music Break
9:07-9:20 “The whole thing reeks of conflict of interest.
To begin the catalog of corruption here, you would have to
do a 24-hour marathon.”
INTRO: Robert McChesney, author of eight books on media and
politics, discusses the importance of media diversity and
the inner-workings of the FCC.
Today, the FCC votes on decades-old rules governing ownership
of newspapers, TV and radio stations.
Analysts say the vote to scrap the rules will unleash the
largest wave of media consolidation in U.S. history.
The rules limit the number of TV stations a company can own;
they prevent big networks from merging; and they prohibit
companies from owning newspapers and broadcast stations in
the same market.
Driving the review is FCC chair Michael Powell, son of Secretary
of State General Powell. Powell strongly supported the AOL/Time-Warner
merger. After the merger, his father’s stock options
in the company skyrocketed from $6 million to nearly $10 million.
Powell is supported by the two other Republicans on the commission.
The two Democratic Commissioners are opposed. The FCC is therefore
expected to pass the rule revisions by a majority of one.
Major media conglomerates have been lobbying hard in favor
of the new rules, corporations pressuring the FCC include:
- AOL Time Warner, which in addition to AOL and Time magazine
owns HBO, CNN, and dozens of magazines
- General Electric, Disney and Viacom, which own NBC, ABC
and CBS respectively
- Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which owns Fox News and many
other outlets
But Powell has been reluctant to hear opinions from the public.
When Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps called on the FCC
to conduct public hearings on the issue, Powell refused. Copps
went on to hold several public hearings on his own. Powell
boycotted all but one – which he decided to attend only
at the last minute as public pressure intensified. The FCC
convened its only official hearing in Richmond, Virginia in
February.
Guest: Robert McChesney, author of eight books on media
and politics including Rich Media, Poor Democracy. He is also
professor of communication at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, and host of the weekly talk show, Media
Matters, on WILL-AM radio. McChesney recently wrote the article
"The FCC's Big Grab,” which was published at Counterpunch.org.
Links:
www.robertmcchesney.com
http://www.counterpunch.org/mcchesney05162003.html
9:20-9:21 One Minute Music Break
9:21-9:30 Diverse Organizations from Around the Country Testify
Against Media Consolidation
Today the FCC is poised to overhaul decades-old rules governing
media ownership allowing for further consolidation.
We hear a gathering of journalistic organizations and other
groups opposed to deregulation of media ownership rules.
The gathering took place on in Washington DC May 27th.
- Rev. Bob Chase, United Church of Christ
www.ucc.org United
Church of Christ
- Condace Pressley, National Association of Black Journalists
www.nabj.org
National Association of Black Journalists
- Bernie Lunzer, Communications Workers of America
www.cwa-union.org
Communications Workers of America
- Jim Winston, National Association Black Owned Broadcasters
www.nabob.org
National Association Black Owned Broadcasters
9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break
9:30-9:58 Democracy Now! Goes Live to the FCC Vote on Rules
Governing Media Consolidation
Today, the FCC votes on decades-old rules governing ownership
of newspapers, TV and radio stations.
We go live to Washington DC to hear FCC members speak on
media consolidation issues prior to the final vote.
- Kenneth Ferree, FCC Media Bureau Chief
- Elizabeth Valinoti, FCC Media Bureau Attorney Adviser
- Erin Dozier, FCC Media Bureau Attorney Adviser
- Nandan Joshi, FCC Office of General Counsel Attorney Adviser
- Patrick Webre, FCC Media Bureau Attorney Adviser
9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie
Karran, Sharif Abdul Kouddous, Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press
with help from Noah Reibel and Vilka Tzouras. Mike Di Filippo
is our music maestro and engineer. Thanks also to Uri Galed,
Angela Alston, Emily Kunstler, Orlando Richards, Simba Rousseau,
Rafael delaUz, Gabriel Weiss, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Karen
Ranucci, Fatima Mojadiddy, Denis Moynihan and Jenny Filipazzo.
|
Listen
to the show
Help
