I read this in the Washington Post two days ago...is this happens it couls change the face of programming at ESPN, Disney, etc.  This smells like a monopoly to me!!

opinions??

You say monopoly like that is a bad thing. I can not be the only card carrying republican on this board. Go directly to jail and do not collect $200.00. "VIRGINIA"

-- Modified on 2/15/2004 1:11:54 PM

I didn't know that the Republican Party still required their members to carry cards.  I burned mine a long time ago, and would like to burn it every day I read about the death of a member of our armed services in Iraq.  We were fed the Kool-Aid.

Monopolies are only a good thing when there is enough public good involved in the decision to allow a monopoly.  In some cases, monopolies aren't in the public interest, while in others they are.  The best thing to do with a monopoly is regulate the hell out of it.

Personally, I could care less who owns Disney.  The executives at Comcast would be completely insane to limit a Disney-related asset to only Comcast viewers given the current way our cable systems work.  I would love to see some competition in the cable industry, though.  The one major mistake many local governments made was to let the cable companies own the local cable systems.  It's a telephone service monopoly all over again.

-- Comcast , Clear Channel, Viacom, Fox, Time Warner....and others...

Ms Banks mentioned monopoly...which to me is bad enough...but JUST as bad is a situation where you have a company like Clear channel owning over 100 radio stations as well as a concert promotion division which OWNS venues in big cities, basically making them the #1 concert promoter in cities like Boston where I live. Not only that, they own the majority of the huge billboard advertising spaces atop stores and on highways...ONE company owns all that....they control what we hear , news vs. music..who we hear...if we wanna see them live, WHERE we see them...and IF we see them...if the artists do not agree to perform FOR Clearchannel and ClearChannel ONLY, they will not get their songs played on the major radio stations owned by Guess WHO!! and their project will be dead bedore you can say PFFFT.

In a time when journalism is taking a backseat to ad revenues at our top news papers...and our TV is going from bad to worse....why is it that FCC is oh soooooo appalled at Janet Jackson/CBS/MTV....when they do not do a THING against profanity, and other innpropriate things going on on a MTV show at 10:00 AM!!!!!! (has ANYONE there really seen what they show on any Episode of the REAL WORLD???..and if so...are they REALLY not appalled at that????

Ms Banks brought up merely the LATEST of such inevitable -ahem- "BUSINESS" moves...her concerns ARE justified...but I fear its too late.....

p.s.  

To Miss Banks: When will you visit us in Boston??? Please say soon   Take care of your beautiful self...

-Six One Seven in Boston

Clear Channel owning ver 100 station...I large part of that id due to the 1996 Telecommunication Act...And all the interestinf stipulations with that...we will not go there!!!  But I do agree...the concept of monopolies in this country is not a new one...and I do not know when I am coming to Boston!!  But I will think but I will think about it...Bye thank you for the words
thestephaniebankAThotmaildotcom

Don't worry about spelling mistakes Ms. Banks...we all read typonese  

As for not knowing IF you're gonna come to Boston...at least you said you'll think about it....think..think...think...think....


yeah, yeah, I'm pushing it...I know....

Hope you DO come this way sometimes soon.
Til thne take care of your beautifuls elf, Ms Banks.


-Six One Seven in Boston