Chicago - A message from the station manager

Obama’s Comcast

By Free Press

According to press reports, Comcast announced on Saturday that it had assumed control of NBC Universal from General Electric.
The nation’s largest cable and broadband provider now has a 51 percent ownership stake in one of the nation’s top content producers.
Last week, federal regulators paved the way for the final deal. The Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission both approved the merger with conditions.
Immediately following the takeover, more than 20 groups, including Free Press, Media Access Project, Women in Media and News, and the Writers Guild of America East, filed a letter with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski vowing to “be vigorous watchdogs, monitoring this newly merged media giant, and consistent advocates for the public interest.”
They asked the chairman to do the same and expressed concern that the merger would lead to more consolidation, fewer voices and fewer choices for the public.
“This deal is a win for Comcast, General Electric and NBC executives, and a devastating loss to everyone else, and to democracy itself,” Free Press President Josh Silver says.

Read More

Posted on January 31, 2011

Oprah’s Other Secrets

By The Beachwood Celebrity Secrets Affairs Desk

“Oprah Winfrey has discovered she has a half-sister – a Milwaukee woman who was given up for adoption by Winfrey’s mother nearly 50 years ago, when the talk show host was eight years old,” AP reports.

–
The Beachwood has learned, however, that this isn’t the only “secret” Oprah will reveal this year. The others:

Read More

Posted on January 25, 2011

NBC Now Only Available On Tuesdays Between 1 And 4

By The Beachwood Corporate Media Merger Customer Service Desk

* Comcastrophe: “And so the Obama administration has reneged on yet another major campaign pledge: to halt media consolidation.”
* Al Franken: “The FCC’s action today is a tremendous disappointment. The Commission is supposed to protect the public interest, not corporate interests. But what we see today is an effort by the FCC to appease the very companies it’s charged with regulating. With approval of this merger, the FCC has given a single media conglomerate unprecedented control over the flow of information in America. This will ultimately mean higher cable and Internet bills, fewer independent voices in the media, and less freedom of choice for all American consumers.”
* And yet, you have to look very hard to find this outdated story on the Sun-Times website.
* You have too look equally as hard to find this AP story on the Tribune website. Yawn.

Read More

Posted on January 19, 2011

The Weirdness of Walter Jacobson

By Steve Rhodes

As told through his Perspectives.
*
TV Pundits Are Polarizing Us
January 12, 2011
“Rarely do we hear the talking heads talking truth, which is that they’re the ones who are polarizing America and stirring people up.
“So until they know and can explain to us what stirred up the killer in Tucson, the talking heads ought to shut up – me included.”

Read More

Posted on January 17, 2011

1 2