Ben Bagdikian Ben Haig Bagdikian (born 1920, Maraş , Ottoman Empire ; modern day Turkey ) is an American educator and journalist . Bagdikian has made journalism his profession since 1941. He is a significant American media critic and the dean emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism . In 1983, Bagdikian published The Media Monopoly , which revealed the fast-moving media conglomeration that was putting more and more media corporations in fewer and fewer hands with each new merger. This work has been updated through six editions (through 2000) before being renamed The New Media Monopoly and is considered a crucial resource for knowledge about media ownership. Bagdikian is credited with the observation that "Trying to be a first-rate reporter on the average American newspaper is like trying to play Bach 's ' St. Bibliography [ edit ] In the Midst of Plenty: A New Report on the Poor in America , Boston: Beacon Press , 1964. Honors [ edit ] As editor [ edit ]
The internet is fucked In a perfect storm of corporate greed and broken government, the internet has gone from vibrant center of the new economy to burgeoning tool of economic control. Where America once had Rockefeller and Carnegie, it now has Comcast’s Brian Roberts, AT&T’s Randall Stephenson, and Verizon’s Lowell McAdam, robber barons for a new age of infrastructure monopoly built on fiber optics and kitty GIFs. And the power of the new network-industrial complex is immense and unchecked, even by other giants: AT&T blocked Apple’s FaceTime and Google’s Hangouts video chat services for the preposterously silly reason that the apps were "preloaded" on each company’s phones instead of downloaded from an app store. Verizon and AT&T have each blocked the Google Wallet mobile payment system because they’re partners in the competing (and not very good) ISIS service. We’re really, really fucking this up. But we can fix it, I swear. We can do it. Go ahead, say it out loud. None. This is nonsense, of course.
The Canadian Trans-Pacific Free Trade Heist The Canadian Trans-Pacific Free Trade Heist By ActivistCanada “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” Stephen Harper continues to use his token talking points when discussing any Conservative (Reform) Party initiative such as the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Deal that Canada will be taking part in. Normally I wouldn’t lead into an article with such directness, but this trade agreement will turn Canada into a serfdom. According to the CIA Factbook on Canada: GDP composition by sector 1.9% Agriculture 27.1% Industry 71% Services Labour Force by occupation 2% Agriculture 13% Manufacturing 76% Services 3% Other The free trade agreement is all about exploiting Canada’s natural resources & agricultural commodities and importing products produced in jurisdictions that have much lower wages in many cases. TTP: Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: Borders, Copyright, Three Amigos
Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership Some nations can influence and control their media greatly. In addition, powerful corporations also have enormous influence on mainstream media. In some places major multinational corporations own media stations and outlets. Often, many media institutions survive on advertising fees, which can lead to the media outlet being influenced by various corporate interests. Other times, the ownership interests may affect what is and is not covered. Stories can end up being biased or omitted so as not to offend advertisers or owners. The idea of corporate media itself may not be a bad thing, for it can foster healthy competition and provide a check against governments. Global conglomerates can at times have a progressive impact on culture, especially when they enter nations that had been tightly controlled by corrupt crony media systems (as in much of Latin America) or nations that had significant state censorship over media (as in parts of Asia). — Robert W. We are here to serve advertisers.
Canada’s international reputation slipping under Stephen Harper | Canada Politics Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper waves upon his arrival at the airport before the start of the G20 summit …Two years ago — during the G8/G20 summits in Toronto — political pundits and analysts were waxing poetic about Canada "punching above its weight" in the international community. In 2010, Stephen Harper received accolades for persuading his G8 peers to embrace his initiative on maternal health and his government was lauded for its handling of the economy during the worldwide economic slowdown. Two years later, the situation is distinctly different. At this week's G20 summit in Mexico, Canada's delegation — led by Harper and finance minister Jim Flaherty — is but a bit player with little or no influence. [ Related: Canada rebuts UN's criticism of Bill 78 ] Long-time Globe and Mail columnist Jeffery Simpson recently wrote about Canada's diminishing international reputation. "Canada under this government failed to win a seat on the UN Security Council, a stinging rebuke.
“The Big 6″ Media Conglomerates – How Much Do They Really Control? | Introduction to Sociology On tuesday, we talked about the state of our country’s media programs, and how they are ultimately controlled by only a handful of large companies and corporations. Basically, the preferences of the executives of these companies will have influence in the news programming on the television channels that they own. To take this even further, media in America has the power to hide, show, highlight, or downplay certain situations, events, or in that matter, anything that each channel’s respective executives want. In lecture, there was a question asking “what percentage of American media is controlled by the ‘Big 6′ media conglomerates?” A website titled “Frugal Dad” has created a visual representation of just how much the “Big 6″ media conglomerates actually control. The analysis continues, with a breakdown of different media types. From this, it certainly seems like these 6 companies really are “taking over”. -Ian Simpson
Canada News: PM plans own media centre OTTAWA–The Prime Minister's Office, which has long had a rocky relationship with the national media, has been working on a secret project to build a new, government-controlled briefing room at the cost of $2 million, documents obtained by the Star show. Long kept under wraps, the plan – codenamed the Shoe Store Project – is in the works by the Privy Council Office and the PMO to establish a new government-controlled media briefing centre near Langevin Block. The yellow-brown building that now houses Stephen Harper and his senior staff would supplant the current National Press Theatre, just a block away. The National Press Theatre, used by prime ministers and cabinet ministers since Lester B. Save for one surprise visit by Harper Oct. 3 (a visit that shocked even his senior staff) the National Press Theatre has been shunned by "Canada's New Government." Its estimated cost: $2 million. Small wonder. The Harper government has had several run-ins with the national press gallery.
Study shows thinking diminishes religious faith To Our Faithful Current.com Users: Current's run has ended after eight exciting years on air and online. The Current TV staff has appreciated your interest, support, participation and unflagging loyalty over the years. Your contributions helped make Current.com a vibrant place for discussing thousands of interesting stories, and your continued viewership motivated us to keep innovating and find new ways to reflect the voice of the people. We now welcome the on-air and digital presence of Al Jazeera America, a new news network committed to reporting on and investigating real stories affecting the lives of everyday Americans in every corner of the country. Thank you for inspiring and challenging us. – The Current TV Staff
The First Bank Has Been Criminally Indicted for Mortgage Fraud Manhattan DA Cy Vance has indicted a bank, a very small bank, for mortgage fraud. The first bank to be indicted in the foreclosure crisis is Abacus Bank, along with some of its executives. From the press release: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of ABACUS FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK (“ABACUS” or the “Bank”) and eleven of its former employees in a false document mortgage fraud scheme resulting in the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fraudulent loans to the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as “Fannie Mae.” The District Attorney also announced that an additional eight former employees have already waived indictment and admitted their guilt in connection with this conspiracy. FINALLY, we get a prosecutor with a working set of gonads. I realize that this is a teeny tiny bank so you may be asking yourself, “What’s the big deal?” Where is the FBI?
'My place is destroyed': Albertan in wake of Red Deer River oil spill Gord Johnston’s tranquil life along the Red Deer River in central Alberta was shattered Thursday night as the nauseating scent of crude oil hung in the air and a coffee-coloured liquid lapped the banks near his home. He reported the oil leak and, within two hours, a helicopter dispatched by a local oil company landed on his 57-acre property near Sundre, Alta., to fly him over the devastating scene. Mr. Johnston, who works in the oil patch, could see oil “boiling up” in the river at the site of a pipeline crossing. “My place is destroyed,” Mr. Plains Midstream Canada, which operates the pipeline that was built in 1966, shut a 10-kilometre section of its Rangeland South line. But cleanup and containment won’t be easy and could take all summer, officials said. The already engorged river could flood again as another storm system is in the weekend forecast. In 2010, there were 687 failures, the majority of them leaks, which resulted in 3,416 cubic metres of spilled hydrocarbons.
Leaving Facebookistan (via @scoopinion) I established a Facebook account in 2008. My motivation was ignoble: I wanted to distribute my journalism more widely. I have acquired since then just over four thousand “friends”—in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the Middle East, and of course, closer to home. I have discovered the appeal of Facebook’s community—for example, the extraordinary emotional support that swells in virtual space when people come together online around a friend’s illness or life celebrations. Through its bedrock appeals to friendship, community, public identity, and activism—and its commercial exploitation of these values—Facebook is an unprecedented synthesis of corporate and public spaces. There are many reasons to be skeptical about Facebook’s I.P.O., which raised $16 billion for the company. Those are reasons for investors to be doubtful; at least as worrying is what the I.P.O. Within the United States, Facebook is a venue for all sorts of issue and political campaigns. That is a laudable conception.
Obama Seizes Control of All Communications Systems With Executive Order President Obama has usurped all available forms of communication for use and discretion of the US government. Under an Executive Order (June 6, 2012) entitled Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions, Obama has enabled the executive branch to control communications “under all circumstances to ensure national security, effectively manage emergencies, and improve national resilience.” (For full text of the Executive Order, seen Annex below). Radio and wired communications systems “of all levels of government, the private and nonprofit sectors, and the public must inform the development of national security and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) communications policies, programs, and capabilities.” Cellular phone corporations like Sprint owned Boost Mobile have released messages to their customers concerning the US government’s allocation of their phone communications at the whim of the President. [White House. Section 1. Sec. 2. Sec. 2.1. Sec. 2.2.