Saturday, August 18, 2007

The Media Monopoly

Dr. Stanley Monteith | October 13 2004

Daniel Webster wrote: "There is nothing so powerful as truth - and often nothing so strange."[1]

Most people sense something is seriously wrong in the United States, but they don't know what it is. Both major political parties support globalization, illegal immigration, the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act, and increased federal spending. Why is this happening?

Thomas Jefferson warned future generations: "Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong."[2]

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."[3]

Thomas Jefferson feared the American Republic would fall if the people weren't told "the truth." George Orwell foresaw that situation. He wrote about a society where The Ministry of Truth controlled the media, and important information disappeared down "the memory hole." Could that happen in the United States? It not only could happen, it happens every day. Conservative leaders tell us the media is liberal because the reporters and commentators are liberal, but that isn't true. The media is liberal because most outlets are owned by megacorporations that are dedicated to globalism and socialism.

Ben Bagdikian is the former Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California in Berkeley. When the first edition of his book, The Media Monopoly, was published in 1983, fifty corporations controlled most major media outlets in the United States. When the second edition of Ben Bagdikian's book was published in 1987, twenty-nine corporations controlled most media outlets. When the sixth edition of The Media Monopoly was published in 2000, six megacorporations dominated the mass media. Ben Bagdikian wrote:

"Six firms dominate all American mass media. Each is a subsidiary of a larger parent firm, some of them basically operating in other industries. The six parent firms are General Electric, Viacom, Disney, Bertelsmann, Time Warner, and Murdoch's News Corp. . . . These six have more annual media revenues than the next twenty firms combined."[4]

When Ben Bagdikian's last book, The New Media Monopoly, was published in 2004, five megacorporations dominated the mass media, and control what most Americans hear, see, read, and believe.[5]

I joined the patriotic movement in 1962, and tried to tell the American people what was happening, until I realized the movement was controlled by men who funded the Right and the Left, the Republicans and the Democrats, the conservatives and the liberals. At that point, I began researching the origin of the corporate-socialist movement.[6] My findings are summarized in my book, Brotherhood of Darkness; you can read about it on my web site at www.radioliberty.com.

How can we reach the American people and convince them their freedom is in jeopardy? I believe talk-radio is the most cost effective way to reach them, so I organized Radio Liberty, and began broadcasting in 1992. My programs are currently heard on 60 outlets every week, on the Internet at www.gcnlive.com, www.radioliberty.com, www.rbnlive.com, www.americanewsnet.com, and www.soundwaves2000.com. Shortwave broadcasts are heard from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. Pacific time weekdays at 9.430 MHz, from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. Pacific time at 7.535 and 7.315 MHz. For additional information, access www.radioliberty.com.

I believe Thomas Jefferson was correct: "Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong."

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."

We must convince the public that the media is dominated by five megacorporations that promote globalization and socialism. If we fail, we will lose our Republic, our liberty, and possibly our lives. Radio Liberty has a nationwide radio network. I hope you will listen, evaluate our information, and help me reach the American people.

Radio Liberty is hosting an all-day seminar at the Aptos Seascape Golf Course near Santa Cruz, CA, on November 6, 2004. For information or reservations, call (800) 544-8927.

1, John Barton, Bartlett's Quotations, Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1980, p. 450.
2, Ibid., p. 387.
3, Ibid., p. 389.
4, Ben Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, Beacon Press, Boston, 2000, pp. x, xx.
5, www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Ba gdikian/Big_Five_TNMM.html
6, Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World In Our Time, Macmillan, Company, New York, 1966, pp. 936-950 and 1247-8.