Nashville Musicians Decry Media Consolidation: "We're at a level of potential censorship here."

[DeepModem Mom]

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter: Nashville Musicians Decry Media Consolidation
By REUTERS
Published: December 11, 2006

NASHVILLE (Hollywood Reporter) - Media consolidation doesn't play well here in Music City, USA as a roomful of singers and songwriters, from the famous to the unknown, gathered Monday to criticize government policy easing the rules that say who can own what media outlet where.

Music impresarios like George Jones, Porter Wagoner and Dobie Gray lined up to warn the Federal Communications Commission against allowing single entities to buy up more local outlets during the commission second field hearing on the issue.

"The days of an artist receiving regional airplay or breaking as a new act on radio are gone, and you are now considering making the situation even worse by letting some broadcast dynasties become even bigger broadcasting dynasties,'' Wagoner told the commissioners....

***

Democratic commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein both got rounds of applause when they attacked the commission's original decision to ease the rules in 2003.

"Dumbed-down news is not helping our democracy any more than homogenized music and national play-lists are giving us entertainment truly reflective of the creative genius of this diverse nation,'' Copps said. "We are paying too heavy a price for the lack of diversity, localism, creativity and competition that so much consolidation has visited upon us. The bottom line here is this -- the people don't have enough say as to how their airwaves are being used and it's time to do something about it.''...

John Rich of the country group Big and Rich, said the current state of media ownership treads heavily on the rights of the nation's citizens.

"We're at a level of potential censorship here,'' Rich said. ''One guy, in effect, can tell 30 million people what they can hear and that's censorship.''...

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/arts/entertainment-media-fcc.html

[Phredicles]

1. On a par with the level of bears potentially shitting in woods, I'd say;

still, it is good to see them speaking out.

[Mythsaje]

2. Are these people FINALLY figuring this stuff out?

GOOD.

[nashville_brook]

5. their PR people finally said it was OK to talk about

[blitzen]

7. no, George has been talking about this for years n/t

[JudyM]

3. K&R. Let's get this train moving. Good to get as much visibility as possible. nt

[piedmont]

4. Is there ANYBODY out there with a lick of sense that this admin. hasn't pissed off?

[Stand and Fight]

6. Recommended for the Greatest Page... Off to Bed. n/t

[Roy]

8. Most likely they feel that they may finally be heard....... n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. I wonder if they'll reconsider their position if someone tells them that

the airwaves have also been polarized politically in favor of the right?

[TroglodyteScholar]

10. Where were these guys THREE YEARS AGO? n/t

[Fly by night]

12. They were releasing "Takin' My Country Back", a strong anti-Bush country song

This song was recorded and promoted by the Music Row Democrats. It was the mantra for many of us in the Orange State back in 2004, before we fell down the rabbit hole.
-------
TAKIN' MY COUNTRY BACK

COUNTRY MUSIC'S GOT MAMAS AND DADDYS
WE GOT BAR ROOMS AND OLD HEARTBREAK SONGS
BUT I 'M HERE TODAY TO STAND UP AND SAY
HOW I FEEL ABOUT MY HOME SWEET HOME
WHAT'S LEFT, WHAT'S RIGHT AND WHAT'S WRONG... AND

I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK
SON, YOU AIN'T BEEN DOIN’ HER RIGHT
OH I BEEN WATCHIN’ YOU AND I DON’T LIKE
HOW YOU'VE BEEN TREATIN’ MY STARS AND STRIPES
YOU TOOK OUR JOBS AND SENT ‘EM OVERSEAS
NOW WE OWE BILLIONS TO THE RED CHINESE
YOU BLEW THE BUDGET AND YOU BOTCHED IRAQ
SO I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK

WE HAD A BUNDLE IN THE TREASURY DRAWER
MORE THAN THERE HAD EVER BEEN BEFORE
BUT EVERY DAY WE'RE DROWNIN' DEEPER IN DEBT
MAYBE FOUR YEARS SHOULD BE ALL YOU GET
THEN YOU GAVE TAX BREAKS TO THE MILLIONAIRES
AND TRIED TO MAKE THE WORKIN’ MAN PAY
BUT YOU CAN’T TAX A MAN WHEN HIS JOBS NOT THERE
NOW LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE TODAY…HEY

I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK
SON, YOU AIN'T BEEN DOIN’ HER RIGHT
OH I BEEN WATCHIN’ YOU AND I DON’T LIKE
HOW YOU'VE BEEN TREATIN’ MY STARS AND STRIPES
YOU GOT TOO MANY FANCY FRIENDS FOR ME
THE SAUDIS TREAT YOU LIKE YOU'RE ROYALTY
YOU BLEW THE BUDGET AND YOU BOTCHED IRAQ
NOW I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK

NOW I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY YOU WERE HOT
'CAUSE BIN LADEN NEVER DID GET CAUGHT
SO YOU SAID WE HAD SADDAM TO BLAME
TRIED TO TELL US IT WAS ALL THE SAME
BUT NOW THE YEARS ROLL BY AND OUR KIDS KEEP DYIN'
YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A PLAN TO BRING 'EM HOME
AND THOSE W.M.D. YOU PROMISED ON T.V.
HEY ADMIT IT, YOU FIGURED IT WRONG... SO I'M TAKIN' MY COUNTRY BACK

NOW YOU DON’T KNOW MY NAME, BUT YOU KNOW WHO I AM
I'M YOUR EVERYDAY WORK HARD, PLAY HARD
RAISE KIDS AND PRAY HARD COMMON MAN....
AND LORD KNOWS I LOVE THIS LAND...THAT'S WHY

I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK
SON, YOU AIN'T BEEN DOIN’ HER RIGHT
OH I BEEN WATCHIN’ YOU AND I DON’T LIKE
HOW YOU'VE BEEN TREATIN’ MY STARS AND STRIPES
YOU SAY "UNITE" BUT YOU DIVIDE US MORE
CUSSIN' EACH OTHER ON THE SENATE FLOOR
AIN'T WE SUPPOSED TO BE ABOVE ALL THAT ?
HEY I’M TAKIN’ MY COUNTRY BACK
I GOT MY FAMILY AND MY CHURCH AND FLAG...
NOW I'M TAKIN' MY COUNTRY BACK

Brought to you by
Honky Tonkers for Truth
http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/04/10/ale04066.html

[stlsaxman]

11. Too little, too late. Lay in the beds you made with your silence, you fascist bastards.

The nerve of these people- making millions waving the pro-war flag of The Fourth Reich but when The Reich begins to fall they're all "boo hoo hoo".

The Corporation owns you. Deal with it.

on edit:

(pardon me, but I could not be more cynical about this, especially this morning.... i'll be better soon.)

[NashVegas]

13. Other Articles from the Tennessean

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/BUSINESS01/612120343/0/BUSINESS01

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/NEWS01/612120346/0/BUSINESS01

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wendell Rawls testified that the basic argument of media owners is about money, not good journalism. "(Newspapers are) the only business protected by the Constitution," Rawls said. "That protection was not to guarantee a profit for few, but to guarantee access to information for many."

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/BUSINESS01/612120345/0/BUSINESS01

http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/BUSINESS01/612120344/0/BUSINESS01

Monday's media hearings are part of an ongoing national debate. It started in 2003 when the Federal Communications Commission issued guidelines that sought to expand the number of media outlets a single company can own in a local market. Those rules were challenged in court and, in 2004, a decision by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals led to the FCC's calling for a series of public hearings on several proposed changes affecting newspapers, TV, radio and other media outlets

[DeepModem Mom]

21. Thanks, Crisco! nt

[Canuckistanian]

14. And yet, they vote every time for the people who enable this

Do you think they'll ever "get it"?

[Lurking Dem]

18. Not in Nashville, they don't.

Nashville is blue.

[Canuckistanian]

23. Are all Nashville musicians Democrats?

I was rather under the impression that country music performers were overwhelmingly Republican.

Am I wrong?

[Lurking Dem]

25. There is a sizable contingent of Dems.

They even hosted Bush protests on Music Row during lunch.

[QC]

19. How do you know who these people voted for?

Do you have some special psychic skills or something? Or are you just engaging in simpleminded stereotyping, like about half the people on this thread?

[Canuckistanian]

24. Well, who do country music performers vote for, then?

Enlighten me.

After all the Dixie Chicks got SO much support from their fellow performers, didn't they?

[Lurking Dem]

26. It's mixed.

http://musicrowdemocrats.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=67

[Canuckistanian]

29. OK, thanks

[Bjorn Against]

30. Willie Nelson campaigned for Kucinich...

And I think it is a safe bet the Dixie Chicks did not vote for Bush. Tim McGraw is even considering running for office as a Democrat.

I am no fan of country music either, but there are more lefty country stars and fans than most people realize. It is certainly more Republican than rock music is, but that does not mean that we don't have any allies who listen to country.

[John Q. Citizen]

31. I don't think that even rock music is either Republican or Democratic. Look

at the music Rush Limbaugh uses on his show.

Doesn't seem to drive the ditto heads away.

Steve Earl is a country musician, and he had that great show on AAR.

[Lurking Dem]

32. Ted Nugent is a case in point.

[John Q. Citizen]

22. Who are the they you are speaking of? The telecommunications act of

(was it 1996?) began this whole desent down the road of corporate media consolidation. As I recall, it was passed by a Democratic controlled Senate, and signed into law by a Democratic President.

So that "they" you are speaking of may very well be us.

[hatrack]

15. "Potential"?!?!?

Where in blue fuck has this guy BEEN for the past three years?

:silly:

[redqueen]

20. yup... makes you wonder, huh?

[Strawman]

16. Mojo Nixon wrote a good song about Nashville

and the country music industry...

Let's go burn ole Nashiville down
Set it all aflame
BBQ the greedyheads
Made country weak and tame
Burn burn Nash Vegas
Char it's rancid soul
Burn burn Branson too
Make a big black hole

Country music is killing itself
Tryin' to be what it ain't
Garth's as big as Manilow
Lee Greenwood is a saint
Burn burn Jimmy Bowen
Damn your puny soul
Burn burn Jimmy Bowen
Country can't be sold

Any fool can wear a hat
And not move when they play
But the lonesome howl of the white trash wolf
Can't be heard today
Burn burn the fake cowboys
Vegas showbiz shit
Burn burn Branson too
Sold your soul for a hit

Let's go burn ole Nashville down
Burn it to the ground
Let's go burn ole Nashville down
Save the country sound
Burn burn soulless swine
Crossover igit pukes
Burn burn lyin' cheaters
Country don't have flutes

[depakid]

17. Thank Bill Clinton

who never got a break from the corporate media that he pandered to.

It was obvious what would happen when he signed the telecommunications bill- it was basically a death warrant on American radio and new artists who might have gotten airplay.

[melm00se]

27. this is a bandwagon jumping on article

these folks seem to overlook the fact that radio, by the mid 80's, was almost entirely programmed by large media consultancy firms...so they are complaining only about 25 years too late.

[Karenina]

28. HAL-LO!!!

:hi:

[Norquist Nemesis]

33. A little late to the party, but welcome nonetheless. n/t