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CNN Live Sunday
McCain Sounds Off on FCC's Upcoming Vote on Media Ownership
Aired June 01, 2003 - 18:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Another former presidential candidate is speaking out on the eve of the Federal Communications Commission's vote on media ownership. Senator John McCain of Arizona says easing current restrictions, as the FCC is expected to do tomorrow well he says it might be bad news for your local newspaper or TV station. Others, of course, disagree. Who's right?
CNN's Greg Clarkin looks at the issue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're listening to news radio 620 WTMJ. I'm Charlie Sacks (ph).
GREG CLARKIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): WTMJ-AM is the number one radio station in Milwaukee. It's owned by Journal Communications which also owns a popular FM station as well as a leading TV station and the only major newspaper in town.
PROF. DAVID PRITCHARD, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: There arguably is no other city where a single company has such a stranglehold on news and public affairs content as Milwaukee.
CLARKIN: Media critics say having one company with so much influence over what people read, see, and hear in a single market is dangerous.
DAVID BERKMAN, MEDIA CRITIC, "SHEPARD'S EXPRESS": It's the fact that at any given moment orders can come down from above either through literal dictate or because the message is clear, wink, wink, this is the way we push or stand on this particular issue.
CLARKIN: Industry watchdogs say that's what happened a few years back when the debate raged over spending tax dollars on a new baseball stadium.
PRITCHARD: We had two daily papers then, both owned by Journal Communications, one liberal, one conservative. They both ran front page editorials supporting the plan. The TV station fell in line. Even the very conservative political talk show hosts on their radio station fell in line for a huge public subsidy.
CLARKIN: Journal Communications refused comment. It's in what's known as a quiet period mandated by the SEC before a stock offering later this year. As for how it covers other news events, Pritchard studied its coverage of the 2000 presidential election, examining articles, editorials, even letters to the editor. In that case, he said he found no evidence of an agenda. But industry watchdogs fear all media giants may not behave as well.
(on camera): Critics of the FCC say changing the ownership regulations is not in the best interest of the public, but what about the public? Do people really know what company owns the newspaper they read, the radio station they listen to, or the TV station they watch? And, if they do, does it really matter to them?
(voice-over): We put the question to people on the streets of Milwaukee. Some knew who the big player was in town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's Journal Communications.
CLARKIN: Others didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea.
CLARKIN: And what about one company dominating a market?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This doesn't bother me one way or another.
CLARKIN: But Mikel Holt says people need to care. He's battled Journal Communications for almost 30 years but he had a paper from Milwaukee's African American community, a paper offering another voice in a city dominated by one media company.
MIKEL HOLT, SENIOR EDITOR, MILWAUKEE "COMMUNITY JOURNAL": My greatest fear is not economic. It's really more from the editorial standpoint because I think once the monopolies control news they can influence people so we can find ourselves as a nation being subjects of propaganda. So, I think our role in this is to provide balance.
CLARKIN: Holt says he's lucky his paper has managed to stick around while competing with a giant but he fears other small community papers may fall by the wayside in this age of media conglomerates.
Greg Clarkin, CNN Financial News, Milwaukee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Ownership>
Aired June 1, 2003 - 18:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Another former presidential candidate is speaking out on the eve of the Federal Communications Commission's vote on media ownership. Senator John McCain of Arizona says easing current restrictions, as the FCC is expected to do tomorrow well he says it might be bad news for your local newspaper or TV station. Others, of course, disagree. Who's right?
CNN's Greg Clarkin looks at the issue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're listening to news radio 620 WTMJ. I'm Charlie Sacks (ph).
GREG CLARKIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): WTMJ-AM is the number one radio station in Milwaukee. It's owned by Journal Communications which also owns a popular FM station as well as a leading TV station and the only major newspaper in town.
PROF. DAVID PRITCHARD, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN: There arguably is no other city where a single company has such a stranglehold on news and public affairs content as Milwaukee.
CLARKIN: Media critics say having one company with so much influence over what people read, see, and hear in a single market is dangerous.
DAVID BERKMAN, MEDIA CRITIC, "SHEPARD'S EXPRESS": It's the fact that at any given moment orders can come down from above either through literal dictate or because the message is clear, wink, wink, this is the way we push or stand on this particular issue.
CLARKIN: Industry watchdogs say that's what happened a few years back when the debate raged over spending tax dollars on a new baseball stadium.
PRITCHARD: We had two daily papers then, both owned by Journal Communications, one liberal, one conservative. They both ran front page editorials supporting the plan. The TV station fell in line. Even the very conservative political talk show hosts on their radio station fell in line for a huge public subsidy.
CLARKIN: Journal Communications refused comment. It's in what's known as a quiet period mandated by the SEC before a stock offering later this year. As for how it covers other news events, Pritchard studied its coverage of the 2000 presidential election, examining articles, editorials, even letters to the editor. In that case, he said he found no evidence of an agenda. But industry watchdogs fear all media giants may not behave as well.
(on camera): Critics of the FCC say changing the ownership regulations is not in the best interest of the public, but what about the public? Do people really know what company owns the newspaper they read, the radio station they listen to, or the TV station they watch? And, if they do, does it really matter to them?
(voice-over): We put the question to people on the streets of Milwaukee. Some knew who the big player was in town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's Journal Communications.
CLARKIN: Others didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea.
CLARKIN: And what about one company dominating a market?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This doesn't bother me one way or another.
CLARKIN: But Mikel Holt says people need to care. He's battled Journal Communications for almost 30 years but he had a paper from Milwaukee's African American community, a paper offering another voice in a city dominated by one media company.
MIKEL HOLT, SENIOR EDITOR, MILWAUKEE "COMMUNITY JOURNAL": My greatest fear is not economic. It's really more from the editorial standpoint because I think once the monopolies control news they can influence people so we can find ourselves as a nation being subjects of propaganda. So, I think our role in this is to provide balance.
CLARKIN: Holt says he's lucky his paper has managed to stick around while competing with a giant but he fears other small community papers may fall by the wayside in this age of media conglomerates.
Greg Clarkin, CNN Financial News, Milwaukee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Ownership>
