Attacks on the free press by autocratic radical right capitalism continue

NPR segment on media consolidation

Under the ex-president's corrupt, anti-democratic, autocratic administration, political attacks on the free press and news media were stepped up enormously. Before then, news media had been under severe economic stress. Media presence was shrinking ever since cable TV came along and converted news from news to infoTAIMNET, i.e., little information, lots of entertainment and corporate restrictions on what could even be reported. The owners did not, and still do not, want to offend advertisers or themselves via reporting inconvenient truths.  

In 2017, the FCC repealed its rule limiting concentration of media ownership in different markets. A single owner could now legally dominate entire markets with their propaganda and anti-democratic demagoguery. The Washington Post wrote: "Federal regulators rolled back decades-old rules on Thursday, making it far easier for media outlets to be bought and sold — potentially leading to more newspapers, radio stations and television broadcasters being owned by a handful of companies. .... With the rise of blogs, websites and podcasts, [FCC Chairman Ajit Pai] said, traditional media outlets now face more competition than ever — and rules that once enforced a diversity of viewpoints are no longer needed."

That was a lie. The FCC rules were intended to reduce the diversity of viewpoints in major news outlets. That is what happened in the wake of the 2017 rule change. A central goal of the radical right Republican propaganda Leviathtan has been to consolidate media ownership into the hands of fewer and fewer politically radical right owners. After the FCC rule change, the radical right Sinclair Broadcasting Leviathan bought dozens of media outlets. Sinclair immediately ramped up its fascist propaganda output. People in newsrooms who objected to spewing propaganda and lies were fired (some even faced having to pay Sinclair for quitting) and replaced with people willing to do the job right. Doing the job right meant deceiving and polarizing the American people.

Media consolidation and direct attacks on journalism continue today. The New York Times reports on a new wave of consolidation with an imminent dismantling of news reporting in the name of profitability. The NYT writes:

Tribune Publishing, the owner of some of the largest metropolitan newspapers in the United States, will be acquired by a hedge fund with a reputation for slashing costs and cutting newsroom jobs, after shareholders voted to approve the deal on Friday.

The sale of Tribune, whose titles include The Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun and The New York Daily News, to Alden Global Capital comes at a time of crisis for local news. The coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the headwinds facing small newspapers as spending from advertisers collapsed. But even before the pandemic, more than 2,000 American newspapers closed between 2004 and 2019 and about half of the jobs in the industry were lost, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina.

The losses have hollowed out local news coverage across the country, and with growing polarization and rampant disinformation, reliable coverage of institutions like state houses and city councils is more important than ever. The slump has crippled outlets that people rely on to know about everything from school board decisions to local sports scores.

Alden, the second-largest newspaper owner in the country, will gain control of nine daily newspapers, adding them to a stable of about 200 other publications. Alden says its intention is to ensure newsrooms can survive, but its critics point to a record of slashing spending and cutting back on reporting as it focuses on extracting profits for its shareholders.  

“The purchase of Tribune reaffirms our commitment to the newspaper industry and our focus on getting publications to a place where they can operate sustainably over the long term,” Heath Freeman, the president of Alden, said in a statement Friday.

There is no reason to believe that Aldon has any concern for loss of journalists in pursuit of sustainable operations. Its track record speaks for itself. Aldon is ruthlessly for-profit, but at least it is honest about it. Other than making money, it has no social conscience or moral compass. Journalists just cut into profits and thus need to go. Good looking entertainers are what's needed for these hurly burly days of capitalism.

Questions: Is it fair and/or rational to believe that under current circumstances, (1) capitalism is generally inimical to professional journalism, and (2) waves of media consolidation is part of an overall fascist conservative political goal to control political messaging in as many outlets as possible? What response, if any, would be good for the pubic interest, or should capitalism be allowed to run free and wild as most or all Republican elites and billionaires believe it should? Do podcasts or small blogs, such as, say, Dissident Politics, really provide meaningful diversity of viewpoint compared to major broadcast and print media sources? Is this another conservative attack on democracy by weakening news reporting, or is it just capitalism doing its free and wild thing and needs to be left alone?