Quote

An informed public democracy means rule of the people. A media system is absolutely essential to that process, if people are going to be political equals, they to have to have the information and tools so they can actually be participants. That's liberal democracy 101.

Robert Waterman McChesney

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Robert Waterman McChesney
People
System
Liberal
Public
Essential
Actually
Tools
Process
Rule
Means
Absolutely
Political
Media
Participants
Mean
Information
Equals
Going
Democracy
Informed

More quotes by Robert Waterman McChesney

Image
Basically what they're saying is, if you want to be on TV, if you want to be a credible candidate, you've got to buy ads. And if you're not buying ads, you're not a credible candidate, we don't cover you.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
So the competition isn't once you got the license, running the station it's getting the license.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
Maybe if you and ten of your friends could pool your savings and borrow some money and actually buy some obscure station in Sonoma, and then take some chances and have some fun.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
Our existing media system today is the direct result of government laws and subsidies that created it.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
The notion that journalism can regularly produce a product that violates the fundamental interests of media owners and advertisers ... is absurd.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
When the government allocates monopoly rights to frequency, and there are only a handful in each community, it's picking the winners in the competition.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
When the government picked companies and gave them monopoly rights to frequencies in San Francisco and Los Angeles and New York and Chicago, it was picking the winners of the competition it wasn't setting the terms of the competition.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
Copyright protects corporate monopoly rights over culture and provides much of the profits to media conglomeratesm encouraging the wholesale privatization of our common culture.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
And understand that scarce spectrum is used today for example for cell phone operators, they have to pay for the airwaves they use, for their services.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
In the United States, both the upper levels of the Republican and Democratic Parties are in the pay of the corporate media and communication giants.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
As the mainstream media has become increasingly dependent on advertising revenues for support, it has become an anti-democratic force in society.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
Also, the commercial media in a superior position, really, to any other corporate lobby, because where would people hear about commercial media or corporate media criticism, where would they hear criticism of them other than in the commercial media?
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
If the Internet is worth its salt, it has to help arrest the forces that promote inequality, monopoly, hypercommercialism, corruption, depoliticization and stagnation.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
Which is supposed to mean they're doing something in their broadcasting they would not do is they were simply out to maximize profit if they were really public service institutions, not purely profit maximizing institutions.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
Any serious effort to reform the media system would have to necessarily be part of a revolutionary program to overthrow the capitalist system itself.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
The number one lobby that opposes campaign finance reform in the United States is the National Association of Broadcasters.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
So that what you tend to see is someone like a Rush Limbaugh, he's the classic case because he's the most successful, he didn't sort of like come out of his mother's womb with the highest ratings in the country.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
But having said that, there's also a sea change in attitude towards media.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
Advertising is the voice of capital. We need to do whatever we can to limit capitalist propaganda, regulate it, minimize it, and perhaps even eliminate it. The fight against hyper-commercialism becomes especially pronounced in the era of digital communications.
Robert Waterman McChesney
Image
And they've got to be held accountable our broadcasting system has to be made accountable and unless it is, it's going to be very hard to change anything else for the better in this country.
Robert Waterman McChesney