MEDIA POLECATS CAUGHT IN PRICE-FIXING SCAM

   As we all know, Attorney-General Jeff Sessions recently was obliged to resign from political circumstances. However, the revamped and reformed Justice Department passed into the capable hands of his lieutenant, Matthew Whitaker, who promptly set the Steamroller in motion again. Six MSM conglomerates were the first to get flattened under the new leadership. 

    Sinclair Broadcast Group, Raycom, Tribune Media Corp, Meredith, Griffin Communications, and Dreamcatcher Broadcasting were taken before the Federal Court this week and forced to cough up an undisclosed---but reportedly quite substantial---fine for flagrant violations of Anti-Trust laws. They also agreed to a whopping seven-year probationary period, under which all six companies will be monitored closely by various Federal agencies. These six corporations own a combined total of 257 television stations in 177 federally-recognized market jurisdictions; and have a combined annual revenue of $5,850,000,000. 

    To summarize what these worthies did in layman's terms: they were sharing information regarding each others' available advertising time and the rates with which they charged various advertisers. With this type of insider information, the Media companies could charge advertisers inflated rates---knowing that their competitors couldn't offer lower ones. In other words, they were fixing prices and then price-gouging their commercial customers. Once again, the Media demonstrates what their 'Elite' character really looks like behind the mask. 

    For obvious reasons, the Corporate Media declined to put this story in the headlines. Instead, CNN filed a frivolous lawsuit against the White House after Sarah Sanders took the long-overdue step of suspending CNN's repugnant and ill-behaved correspondent, Jim Acosta. 

   Acosta is best remembered for making a complete fool of himself and, by extension, disgracing all Americans at the US-North Korea Summit. The worst thing he ever did, though, was making a disgraceful scene in front of Kazakhstan's President, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Trump had been relaying United Nations concerns over press transparency in Kazakhstan; but no doubt Acosta's rampage did little to assure Nazarbayev of the benefits of a free press. 

    And actually politicians like Nazarbayev have a point. A free press without any credibility is really no improvement over a state-controlled press. The whole purpose of having a free press is to give the public a trustworthy source of information so that we, as citizens of a republic, can evaluate political decisions and policies and act upon them. A corrupt and irresponsible press in a democracy is not only worthless, but potentially a danger to society. 

     Fortunately, technology like the Internet has come to the aid of the 1st Amendment, We can expose the Corporate Media through other channels. We do need a professional mass media, but ours is going to have to reform itself before what little is left of its credibility slips through their fingers altogether.