Seeker of Truth
06-14-2003, 02:07 PM
Will Big Media Choke The Net?
Fri Jun 13, 4:00 PM ET
Elsa Wenzel, Medill News Service
The Internet is Eden for those who like to get news from anywhere from Albania to Zambia at any time. But paradise risks pollution by a gold rush of media companies seeking to control the digital information landscape, some media experts say.
Media companies can now own more newspapers and TV and radio stations than ever, under a recent, controversial ruling by the Federal Communications Commission.
"It eliminated a critical safeguard that protects freedom online," says Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Digital Democracy.
But that shift is a mere ripple in a sea change in the media and telecommunications industries, say digital rights and consumer advocates.
"The media giants of yesterday want to be the media monoliths of tomorrow," Chester says.
Squeezing the Alternatives
Think you'll always be able to post breaking news on your blog and scoop Nightline or The New York Times?
Think again, says Mark Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America.
Many of the companies that produce content have lobbied the government to also own the pipeline that feeds shows and sites to both your TV and your PC. Some of them, such as Comcast, Cablevision, and AOL/Time Warner, already have this dual role. This blurred barrier will eventually sever the delicate, democratic network of ideas online, Cooper says.
"It's passing through a monopoly gateway into a walled garden," he says. Cooper's fear: the ISP that also promotes content will push its own material to the exclusion of others, even noncommercial competitors.
Broadband cable Internet access is now considered an "information service" instead of a telecom service. The FCC made the distinction in a March 2002 ruling that involves providing broadband services through phone lines.
More @ yahoo.com (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1093&ncid=1093&e=1&u=/pcworld/20030613/tc_pcworld/111154)
Fri Jun 13, 4:00 PM ET
Elsa Wenzel, Medill News Service
The Internet is Eden for those who like to get news from anywhere from Albania to Zambia at any time. But paradise risks pollution by a gold rush of media companies seeking to control the digital information landscape, some media experts say.
Media companies can now own more newspapers and TV and radio stations than ever, under a recent, controversial ruling by the Federal Communications Commission.
"It eliminated a critical safeguard that protects freedom online," says Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Digital Democracy.
But that shift is a mere ripple in a sea change in the media and telecommunications industries, say digital rights and consumer advocates.
"The media giants of yesterday want to be the media monoliths of tomorrow," Chester says.
Squeezing the Alternatives
Think you'll always be able to post breaking news on your blog and scoop Nightline or The New York Times?
Think again, says Mark Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America.
Many of the companies that produce content have lobbied the government to also own the pipeline that feeds shows and sites to both your TV and your PC. Some of them, such as Comcast, Cablevision, and AOL/Time Warner, already have this dual role. This blurred barrier will eventually sever the delicate, democratic network of ideas online, Cooper says.
"It's passing through a monopoly gateway into a walled garden," he says. Cooper's fear: the ISP that also promotes content will push its own material to the exclusion of others, even noncommercial competitors.
Broadband cable Internet access is now considered an "information service" instead of a telecom service. The FCC made the distinction in a March 2002 ruling that involves providing broadband services through phone lines.
More @ yahoo.com (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1093&ncid=1093&e=1&u=/pcworld/20030613/tc_pcworld/111154)