I used to be seriously concerned about media consolidation. Sure, it's still a worry but not as much as it used to be. One of my favourite quotes is from Jello Biafra "Don't hate the media, become the media". Today this is something we are fully capable of doing.
Reglardless of who owns the media, we really own the media, in every respect. We, through the CRTC (a bureaucracy of the government we elect) decide who gets to use the airwaves and for what purpose. We are the viewers/listeners that the media is so desperate for. We are the consumers that the advertisers are after. If we don't watch, or listen or if we don't buy the products advertised, they don't get paid. Finally, every broadcaster in Canada is heavily dependent on Government subsidies. I don't just mean the CBC, private broadcasters also enjoy hundreds of millions of dollars in Government subsidies in Canada. A sum, without which, they would likely not be profitable.
So, now that we've established that we own the media outright and can make and decisions we like regarding it (now matter who owns it on paper) we can move on to 'being the media'. In 2006 Time Magazine (Owned by Time-Warner-AOL) declared that you were the "Person of the Year"
"It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."
If you think back at all of the media revolutions in history - the printing press, the radio, the television etc., they were always in the hands of the few. They were expensive and carefully controlled. It took alot of money and alot of manpower to run them. With the Internet that's all changed. It's a media revolution that has fallen into the hands of the many, there are hundreds of millions of people online around the world, able to share ideas and stories and their own media. We have, in short, done as Jello asked, we have become the media.
There are so many alternatives out there to the 'Big Media' - just on this site the canblogs section aggregates 100 blogs from various sources. A few of these are CBC blogs, the rest are independent.
The cancasts section is similar. There are many CBC podcasts listed, but about 2/3rds of the casts listed are produced indpendently, by individuals with no one to answer to but themselves and their audience. Then there is the public broadcasters section - listing online radio stations from every corner of Canada - all of them CBC affiliates or other public, campus or community broadcasters.
There is such a wide diversity of voices out there that you could easily ignore the main stream media entirely and always be informed and entertained. In the 80s and 90s I think that media consolidation was about extended power, influence and profitibility. In 2007 I think it's suddenly about circling the wagons because Big Media knows that the 'good old days' are over - forever. They will never again enjoy the power, influence and profitability that they once did.
That isn't to say that we shouldn't worry at all. By all means have at them. Take down the big media conglomerates. Stop watching their programs, boycott their advertisers, write your MP and the heritage committee, sick the CRTC on them. As I said before, you own it, make it heel. But for my part I'd like to see net neutrality become the irrefutable law of the land, I'd like to see copyright reform that rewards artists and content creators without punishing consumers and fans, I'd like to see income tax reform that recognizes the importance of the arts to society and makes it easier for independent artists to make a living and I'd like to see Canadians take back the CBC. As for the ConradblackRupertMurdockChumCTVBellGlobemediaFoxHalliburtonHappyfunballNationalEnquirerBritneySpearsChannel media and armorments company Inc. Let them step up and deliver, or wither away unnoticed.
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