Since when did journalists keep an eye on anything?

The bigger problem seems to be the SEC, Dept of Labor and other govt regulatory agencies were gutted.

Where were they when Reagan and Bush 1 bloated the government? Or when George W. Bush expanded the size and scope of the Federal government, creating the largest government bureaucracy in history?

It's a good thing we have Michele Bachmann behind enemy lines to keep us safe.

propasaurus: Where were they when Reagan and Bush 1 bloated the government? Or when George W. Bush expanded the size and scope of the Federal government, creating the largest government bureaucracy in history?

Oh you must be confused. Reagan, Bush, and Bush baby are fiscal conservatives. Clinton put us into this mess...and that damned peanut farmer Carter!

monoski: The bigger problem seems to be the SEC, Dept of Labor and other govt regulatory agencies were gutted.

Just pulling this out of my ass, but maybe the business end of the GAO too.

I love how they use "the 80s" as the comparison marker. What about the 18 years in between, aka "the time people care a bit more about".

Why is it we keep getting greenlights that provoke an initial reaction of "bu-bu-but Bush", but instead just leave me laughing at all the sad little bastards.

propasaurus: when George W. Bush expanded the size and scope of the Federal government, creating the largest government bureaucracy in history?

This was indeed horrible, no?

and since most Americans only care about cheering for their team in government why do we even care about "watching over" them ? We just need to keep score.

There are only 6 media conglomerate companies left in american who own ALL TV, cable, Radio, Magazine, and Movie Studio companies.

the Federal Government used to bust trusts and keep companies from merging and becoming to few and too big, but since the government has been bought by these same companies, the government looks the other way.

they don't own the Internet................yet

and that is why the Internet is the only place to find unfiltered news.

they can't control something they don't own.

Linux_Yes: There are only 6 media conglomerate companies left in american who own ALL TV, cable, Radio, Magazine, and Movie Studio companies.

the Federal Government used to bust trusts and keep companies from merging and becoming to few and too big, but since the government has been bought by these same companies, the government looks the other way.

they don't own the Internet................yet

and that is why the Internet is the only place to find unfiltered news.

they can't control something they don't own.

4 of the 6 are: Disney, Sony, Viacom, NewsCorp.

i don't remember the other two.

these are parent companies who own many many 'child' companies.

now you know why they love Freedom so much.

the Freedom to buy up everything and consolidate everything under one parent company.

40yoVirgin: propasaurus: Where were they when Reagan and Bush 1 bloated the government? Or when George W. Bush expanded the size and scope of the Federal government, creating the largest government bureaucracy in history?

Oh you must be confused. Reagan, Bush, and Bush baby are fiscal conservatives. Clinton put us into this mess...and that damned peanut farmer Carter!

I think all of those gentleman had a lot to do with this. To just say it was only the Republican Presidents or only the Democrats is retarded and anyone who believes that should light themselves on fire.

Primarily though, the fualt lies with our Congress for allowing the deregulation and encouraging risky lending practices, I am looking at you Chris Dodd and Barney Frank. Our representatives have essentially forfeited all responsibility for the sake of their own political safety and left us the citizens without any protection from big business or activist entities within our government.

Again, all of you seeing this as a partisan issue, please light yourselves on fire, or for the love of God please do not vote anymore.

Linux_Yes: There are only 6 media conglomerate companies left in american who own ALL TV, cable, Radio, Magazine, and Movie Studio companies.

One of my favorite meme graphics:

And as we all know, micro managing is an efficient form of management.

Linux_Yes: the Federal Government used to bust trusts and keep companies from merging and becoming to few and too big, but since the government has been bought by these same companies, the government looks the other way.


....and you support it.

Fact.

GaryPDX: And as we all know, micro managing is an efficient form of management.

You never emailed me back. :(

Contents of a Space Wasp's stomach: I think all of those gentleman had a lot to do with this.... for the love of God please do not vote anymore.

It was sarcasm... perhaps not quality sarcasm, but sarcasm none the less.

benlonghair: GaryPDX: And as we all know, micro managing is an efficient form of management.

You never emailed me back. :(

I did...hold on..:)

GaryPDX: And as we all know, micro managing is an efficient form of management.

And deregulation has given us a wonderful economy, no?

GaryPDX: And as we all know, micro managing is an efficient form of management.

biatch get me my damn TPS reports.

benlonghair: GaryPDX: And as we all know, micro managing is an efficient form of management.

You never emailed me back. :(

Did you receive any of them? I sent 3 actually, on Monday..that was the last exchange I have.

/quick side bar

40yoVirgin: GaryPDX: And as we all know, micro managing is an efficient form of management.

And deregulation has given us a wonderful economy, no?

Deregulation has nothing to do with an Insurance Company with employees in London pretending to be a bank. We were gamed. You can stop drinking the koolaid and start thinking for yourself any day now.

GaryPDX: I did...hold on..:)

I'll check later, goin to sharpen my saw and do a little spring cleanup around the yard.

40yoVirgin: Contents of a Space Wasp's stomach: I think all of those gentleman had a lot to do with this.... for the love of God please do not vote anymore.

It was sarcasm... perhaps not quality sarcasm, but sarcasm none the less.

I knew you were being sarcastic, I am still waiting with my hotdogs and smores for that other guy to light himself on fire.

GaryPDX: Deregulation has nothing to do with an Insurance Company with employees in London pretending to be a bank.

Except, y'know, the part where we used to have laws that would have made that illegal.

Contents of a Space Wasp's stomach: I am still waiting with my hotdogs and smores for that other guy to light himself on fire.

Thanks... now I'm hungry...

Hotdogs and smores... breakfast o' champions!

Zagloba: GaryPDX: Deregulation has nothing to do with an Insurance Company with employees in London pretending to be a bank.

Except, y'know, the part where we used to have laws that would have made that illegal.

When UBS releases the 55000 names of their tax cheating American customers, and little Timmy Geithner releases the names of the AIG recipients overseas that is receiving hundreds of billions and protected by the White House to this day, we'll find out the whole story. Republicans are gone..remember? The Game is still being played.

You can think of the Neocon brain as a semi-permeable membrane. If a concept is associated with "Fear" (fear of terra-ists, fear of losing high-paying low-skill job, fear of black people), it passes right through, infects, and the host becomes a spreader of the concept (like a virus-infected cell). If it involves anything else, it bounces off and falls on the floor. It's like an immune system that has antibodies that fight logic and reason.

A good amount of the executives from tobacco companies have moved on to conservative think-tanks. They are marketing fear, hate, and separatism to make a buck off of the "proud to be a peasant" uneducated masses that side with religious conservatism. When you couple this with the God Corporations (churches), you have a very powerful capitalist market force that makes money off of feeding the conservative populace exactly what they want to hear, infecting the masses and letting the diseases of hate and fear corrupt judgement.

You are being duped! Wake up!

All you have to do is look at the components of our GDP to see where we're headed.

Phil Herup: Who watches the Botchmen?



Hey, that's funny!

buzzvert: You can think of the Neocon brain as a semi-permeable membrane. If a concept is associated with "Fear" (fear of terra-ists, fear of losing high-paying low-skill job, fear of black people), it passes right through, infects, and the host becomes a spreader of the concept (like a virus-infected cell). If it involves anything else, it bounces off and falls on the floor. It's like an immune system that has antibodies that fight logic and reason.


Don't let a good crisis go to waste eh?

If you look at what MGM owns it is astounding. It makes the monopolies of the 1920's that caused the Great Depression look like tinker toys. These mega monster companies now are so huge it is unfathomable. No one is stopping monopolies. They are getting around the rules by mergers some way, but of course it is not in the news because they control the media with ownership.

What they have done is try to stop all regulation. The FCC is nothing but an empty shell now catering only to their overlord mega-company bosses. There is no protection on skyrocketing tv satalite or cable costs. Cable tv was supposed to be paid for by the individual monthy and was not supposed to have commercials. Now, they even double the volume as they hammer commercials at you through a bigger and bigger chunk of programming time. The viewer of all private television is screwed. Even PBS has major sponsors from the mega-companies so they are limited in what they will report. You really cannot get the news from a television or radio. Internet, talking to old people, or any old books that have not been "removed" from the library would be the only way.

Same goes with the FDA. Think your food and drugs are safe? Think again. The FDA is paid off and understaffed and will let anything get by.

Now we are finding out the SEC, the agency that was supposed to control the stock market, was sitting on their understaffed, unqualified hands. Why? The big mega-companies control it too.

Sounds very tin-foil-hat, but sadly, it is true. Just ask Ralph Nadar.

The good news is that it you are just a beer swilling, non-voting bum who doesn't really care about his health or happiness or freedoms, then you won't really notice much. That's what they are hoping you are.

Linux_Yes: 4 of the 6 are: Disney, Sony, Viacom, NewsCorp.

i don't remember the other two..

The Queen and Colonel Sanders, before he went tets up.

/I crave his chicken fortnightly

It is satisfying to see us get what we deserve, some more so than others.

Maybe it'll get so big that they won't know what they're doing anymore? The USA is too big to fail, though. We've got to keep hope alive so change can happen.

As the size of government has grown in recent decades

flatly untrue.

that gigantic oil spill was caused by just one drunken ship captain. How absurd is it that it takes hundreds of people to clean it up?

ThreeEyedOni: I love how they use "the 80s" as the comparison marker. What about the 18 years in between, aka "the time people care a bit more about".

Why is it we keep getting greenlights that provoke an initial reaction of "bu-bu-but Bush", but instead just leave me laughing at all the sad little bastards.

Actually, the 1980's is a good comparison, because that was when Reagan killed the Fairness Doctrine. This led to Clinton's deregulation of the media in the 1996 telecommunications act.

The first move eliminated the incentive for broadcasters to have newsrooms, operated at a loss, nominally to justify their serving the public interest. This was seen as necessary to maintain their FCC license, since they were broadcasting over public airwaves and thus needed to show some sort of public value. Because of this, these newsrooms were editorially isolated from management and sales (advertising).

Clinton's move essentially allowed the (newly freed from any pretense of public service or impartiality) networks to be consolidated into the hands of a very few, very wealthy interests.

Both have led to the death of any sort of ideal of 'journalism for journalism's sake'. What we have instead, today, is a 'journalism' that needs to compete with sports and entertainment for advertising dollars. If you need to sell tooth whitener, it's a bad idea to run that report on how tooth whitener causes cancer. And if your newsroom is owned by the biggest manufacturer of jet engines for the F-22, your expose on the uselessness of this particular weapon in fighting an insurgency will never make it out of the cutting room.

Since people, in general, don't watch news as much as they watch American Idol, it becomes imperative for these newsrooms to cut down on their overhead (i.e. reporters). News has become a product, like any other. It's actually pretty amazing it hasn't been shipped to India yet.

PS:

I love oni

40yoVirgin: Oh you must be confused. Reagan, Bush, and Bush baby are fiscal conservatives. Clinton put us into this mess...and that damned peanut farmer Carter!fark you, if you had a lick of sense you know reagan started what the rest finished farking up. and take phil gramm with you.

Skleenar: I love oni


That looks like it was more out of "Heavy Metal" the "Den of Earth" sequence.

modestlivinglegend: If you look at what MGM owns it is astounding. It makes the monopolies of the 1920's that caused the Great Depression look like tinker toys. These mega monster companies now are so huge it is unfathomable. No one is stopping monopolies. They are getting around the rules by mergers some way, but of course it is not in the news because they control the media with ownership.

What they have done is try to stop all regulation. The FCC is nothing but an empty shell now catering only to their overlord mega-company bosses. There is no protection on skyrocketing tv satalite or cable costs. Cable tv was supposed to be paid for by the individual monthy and was not supposed to have commercials. Now, they even double the volume as they hammer commercials at you through a bigger and bigger chunk of programming time. The viewer of all private television is screwed. Even PBS has major sponsors from the mega-companies so they are limited in what they will report. You really cannot get the news from a television or radio. Internet, talking to old people, or any old books that have not been "removed" from the library would be the only way.

Same goes with the FDA. Think your food and drugs are safe? Think again. The FDA is paid off and understaffed and will let anything get by.

Now we are finding out the SEC, the agency that was supposed to control the stock market, was sitting on their understaffed, unqualified hands. Why? The big mega-companies control it too.

Sounds very tin-foil-hat, but sadly, it is true. Just ask Ralph Nadar.

The good news is that it you are just a beer swilling, non-voting bum who doesn't really care about his health or happiness or freedoms, then you won't really notice much. That's what they are hoping you are.

Hey, I resent that!
I'm a beer-swilling, voting bum!

Skleenar: Both have led to the death of any sort of ideal of 'journalism for journalism's sake'. What we have instead, today, is a 'journalism' that needs to compete with sports and entertainment for advertising dollars. If you need to sell tooth whitener, it's a bad idea to run that report on how tooth whitener causes cancer. And if your newsroom is owned by the biggest manufacturer of jet engines for the F-22, your expose on the uselessness of this particular weapon in fighting an insurgency will never make it out of the cutting room.

There's some truth to what you're saying. Fealty to one's corporate bosses is likely to stifle the sort of investigative journalism that we need. I can't recall, for example, a single story on NBC that explained how the Hudson River became damaged. Or how Jack Welch managed to avoid jail.

That said, you're identifying a problem that long predates the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine or the Telecom law. News print and broadcasting has been fighting a losing battle with entertainment for decades. As far as I can recall, CBS gutted its news division long before 1996.

DePaul: As far as I can recall, CBS gutted its news division long before 1996.

Probably in the Reagan years.