FCC Taking Beating For Plans to Gut Media Consolidation Rules → Re: The Reason...

Independent newspapers and TV stations can no longer exist because of the costs involved.

Newspapers not owned by some large national corporation are nothing but ad platforms spewing the AP Newswire and pages of ads. None can afford locally paid reporters on their own.

The days of local TV stations with their investigative reporters are long gone and not coming back.

Changing FCC rules can't reverse the grim economics of the situation.

And when you live in some cities the local news paper stories become the local news. LoL.

Absolutely wrong. Conglomerates only serve the interests of their executives and Wall Street, not the greater public interest. Advertising, which is the fuel of print and broadcast, has been forced into a pricing model that only favors large enough businesses and conglomerate-size audiences. Break up those conglomerates and ad rates will have no alternative but to return to levels that are compatible with smaller-market players. Ditto for content. In broadcast, it means programming has to become more competitive since it will no longer enjoy the monopoly of single-point national carriage. In print, with local ad revenue bumped up, papers can again hire the reporters and staff to deliver the focus and coverage they used to. And, there will be greater freedom to experiment with Internet or VOD alternatives on a market-by-market, and product-by-product basis. The current model is completely focused on preserving the classic venues and revenue model, and completely defies and ignores the demands of consumers.