RADIO: The `96 deregulation of radio ownership let any company buy just about as many media outlets as possible. The race to gobble up the indie radio stations is about over with the 3 big winners: 1. CHANCELLOR Radio (locally owned) with 488 radio stations etc. 2. CBS (see corp. art list ), & 3. CLEAR CHANNEL (San Antonio) that just bought Jacor Co-454 radio (also 19 TV and the largest billboard company with 220,000). The object is to sell ad packages that run simultaneously on TV radio and billboards. We and other critics say: 1. fewer minority-owned outlets; 2. less local content; 3. cookie cutter formats; 4. lousy programming; 5. more commercials. (`96= 160,000 commercials, `98=193,000). Pirate radio broadcasters protested in Wash. in Oct saying: corp. radio runs the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters), who runs the FCC who is now on an anti-pirate radio crusade. Local notable radio broadcaster, Alex Burton says: "They (corp. radio) are more interested in debt service than public service." (WSJ/USA Today/Zine World/DMN.)
NEWSPAPERS: We didn't get any response from the Dallas Morning News to our last months special I-don't-trust-newspapers-because story. It was probably because they were dealing with their soft ad revenue, early retirement offers, and top to bottom review of why its sales were down 1.1% (for a 6 mo period). Matter of fact, by its own article (11/3/98) 7 of the top 10 newspapers in the country are down. We did hear from Molly (Kansas City) who said our no-ad newspaper was a lot like the CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, with the same number of pages, 20; and a number of similar categories. Check it out. Also Eric (Brockton MA) updates us on fired Boston Globe columnist Mike Barnicle - he's doing a semi regular gig on a Sun. nite sports talk show where he makes a weekly wisecrack about being fired... Another stat: indie newspapers have shrunk from 1,650 in 1920 to 300 today. (DMN/American Journalism Review/WSJ)
TV: Disney, Warners, Fox, and Viacom (see list this page) are all trying to both own the networks and the TV shows and syndication rights. But does that mean when they sell a TV show from their network to their cable show they get a discount? Alan Alda (M.A.S.H.) and others from the show are suing Fox saying "Fox licensed the series to its sibling cable network, FX, at below market terms." And producers of Home Improvement charge Disney who owns the series, licensed it to ABC (it owns that too) at a discount. (Newsweek) All this shrinks the TV peoples cash returns... The Labor Dept is suing Warners saying they wrongly denied health and retirement coverage to hundreds of employees (Bloomberg News)... About 2,200 off camera employees of ABC staged a strike Nov 2. Another health plan problem... (AP)
MUSIC:The record chains are invading Dallas. The 120th Tower Store will be at Lemmon and Oak Lawn. Also expect a Virgin Record Store, plus Record Exchange has bought out Pagan Rhythms (merged) on Greenville. (DMN)
MEDIA: The annual PROJECT CENSORED TOP 10 CENSORED STORIES OF 1997 is out. They are: 1. U.S. weapons sales are 63% of all arms sold and often our own troops face enemies with our own weapons; 2. The dangers of unregulated cosmetics; 3.How big business is using cash to influence U.S Universities; 4. The growing global surveillance system (it's scary!); 5. U.S. companies are world leaders in the manufacture of torture devices for export; 6. Russian Plutonium lost over Chile and Bolivia; 7. Norplant drug complaints (contraceptive used here and abroad); 8. Federal Law leads the way to national ID card;. 9. Mattel cuts US jobs to open sweat shops abroad and 10. Army's plan to burn Nerve Gas and toxins in Oregon threatens Columbia River Basin. (http://censored.sonoma.edu/Project Censured) Also I'd like to add one more: 1/4 of the adult population of Zimbabwe and Botswana are infected with AIDS, with 3 more countries not far behind. Losing a quarter of the population of your country is like bubonic plague stats. That's too important for the media to ignore. (Newsweek)
TV NEWS: The little Gulf state (pop. 600,000) of Qatar is stirring up a lot of controversy in the mideast. Most news is state controlled, never controversial, and one sided; but the satellite channel, al-Jezira has 2 shows, "More Than 1 Opinion" and "Opposite Directions" that provide many Arabs with their only chance to hear an opposition spokesman. The station has received complaints from every Arab country except Lebanon, and most believe its the most popular channel in the Gulf and North Africa. Most of this is due to the democracy-minded emir, Sheikh Hamad. We salute! (The Economist)...Broadcasting & Cable says that CBS is talking about merging their news team with Warners, CNN. OUCH!
BOOKS: Bertlesmann, BMG (see list again) has bought 50% of Barnes&Noble.com to compete with Amazon.com. (BMG also owns interest in AOL, 110 commercial websites, plus it owns Random House, etc.). (Publishers Weekly).. Also this month Barnes & Noble (the largest book retailer) has bought the largest book wholesaler, Ingram. Ingram also supplies indie bookstores and rival, Amazon.com. Both (indies through the American Booksellers Assoc.) have cried - rightly so- this stinks of monopoly! "The deal would make independent bookstores virtually dependent upon their largest competitors." ABA spokesman. (WSJ) We agree!
ART: N.Y. Mayor Giuliani vs. Street Artists: Street Artists 1, Mayor zip! A judge has thrown out the charges against 3 street artists who didn't have a license for selling their work on sidewalks and in parks. Judge Lucy Billings said a city requirement (to 'clean up the city') that artists have a $25 license was not a permissible restriction on the sale of artwork (protected by the 1st amendment). We salute and back the artists! (ARTNews)
Reports here and "Art surfing" gathered by Musea's Reporter-at-large, Alden Scott Crow and Musea. If YOU have breaking news on the arts/media, send it in!