Our View
By:
Shandra Jordan, editor in chief
Colleen Buhrer, managing editor
J.J. Babb, design managing editor
Willow Welter, visual editor
Kyle Endres, campus editor
Christopher J, Ortiz, opinion editor
Radio and advertising giant Clear Channel owns 248 of the 250
biggest radio stations in the country. The Gannett Company owns
more or less 150 media outlets (newspapers, television stations)
including The Coloradoan. Have you picked up a copy of Times or
People Magazine, or do you watch Friends or have you been counting
down the opening of the new Lord of The Rings movie? All of these
are owned by the largest of them all media conglomerate – AOL Time
Warner.
This week’s Dish cover story is about the effects Clear Channel
has over radio. The biggest concern the editorial board has about
media conglomerates is the lack of local and independent voices. We
find it concerning a Clear Channel radio station could be
controlled from Los Angeles rather than the local community it is
supposedly serving. This kind of displacement of local news sources
does not serve the public’s best interest.
We are also concerned with multiple news sources having the same
editorial board. When a small number of people have control over
the editorial content of dozens and dozens of newspapers and radio
and television stations, the public is being done a disservice. The
purpose of having multiple news outlets is to have different voices
and opinions and sources, and this is not happening when these
companies have as much control as they have.
The Federal Communications Commission is ultimately the one to
decide how much of a market a company such as Clear Channel or AOL
Time Warner has. In years past, laws and rules have been relaxed to
give this handful of companies a bigger and bigger share of
markets.
Is there an escape from this impending doom of the situation?
It’s hard to get to the news without going through these industry
giants, but there are local outlets and voices. Fort Collins has a
number of independent magazines and radio stations – KRFC 88.9 and
The Fort Collins Weekly and The Bullhorn. The Internet has allowed
for independent news to breathe air. So though the choices are not
as numerous as Clear Channel radio stations, the choice is still
out there.
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