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Sunday, Jun 22, 2003
UHF Discount
I didn't know what to think about Michael Powell for the longest time. Being in the communication industry, I would come across statements by Powell on the internet, satellite TV, cell phones, etc. He came across as a smart guy, but I couldn't tell where his interests lay.
But now all doubt is gone. Not only is he beholden to corporate interests, but he's got the shpiel down pat. In justifying the new 45% market rule for the station group owners, he spoke of competition from other media: newspapers, cable, radio, satellite. The man is smart enough to know that this is specious. The station group owners who wield the most power are those who have major holdings in the "competing" media. Further, FCC rulings over the past decade point towards consolidation of the various mass media outlets into fewer hands.
The new 45% rule allows a station group owner to have stations in markets (called DMAs) that serve 45% of the country. According to the LA Times, some group owners were already in violation of the old 35% guidelines.
A little-noted provision of the rule is that UHF stations are still counted at only 50% of the size of a DMA. Thus, a station holder with UHF-only portfolio could own local stations reaching 90% of the country.
One can only hope that the UHF discount, a relic from the early days of UHF, is overturned before the mandatory switch to digital broadcasting. A large percentage of current VHF stations have UHF carriers for their digital broadcasts. If the UHF discount is still in place when they decide which of their two carriers to keep, which one do you think they'll keep?
With a few favorable rulings, one could see a single individual running the dominant satellite TV provider, several major cable channels, a major television network, local stations serving DMAs that cover 90% of the country, additional "second tier" stations in those DMAs, major newspapers in those DMAs, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Depends on the definition of "unified".
Transcript
Ex-CIA director says administration stretched facts on Iraq
USA Today -- June 18, 2003
Turner said, "There is no question in my mind (policymakers) distorted the situation, either because they had bad intelligence or because they misinterpreted it."Intelligence Fiasco
Turner's comments come a month after a group of retired U.S. intelligence officers wrote President Bush to "express deep concern" over alleged misuse of intelligence to justify the war. [See below.]
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity via Counterpunch -- May 1, 2003
USA lied about Iraq's weapons
Aftenposten (Norway) -- March 19, 2003
Nuclear inspectors reportedly angry
CHECKING FALSE U.S. LEADS WASTED TIME, SOURCE SAYS
San Jose Mercury News -- March 18, 2003
More WMD quotes at What a tangled web we weave.
Archive of WMD stories at Trailer News
Bartcop E!
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