DON'T THINK YOUR POL CAN'T MAKE CHANGE....DO YOU HEAR THEM SHOUTING ABOUT THE PROBLEM????
Does anyone other than me get a creepy feeling watching Scott Pelley of CBS News lately? It isn't just him as it is true across all media, but for some reason the visuals his news programs show makes me think 'authoritarian regime'. I feel he will be saluting The Great Leader anytime soon. A few weeks ago he sat in the foreground with a huge image of the IMF LaGarde looking down saying Europe will cut social programs to cut debt. Pelley said nothing. This week we watch as a string of corporate leaders parade on screen to tell us entitlements are unsustainable and must be cut.....get used to the idea. The camera zoomed onto their faces making them larger than life. These were heads of Goldman Sachs, United Parcel Service, and a company called Honeywell. Then, at the end of the election coverage, Pelley stood in front of a great big sign that repeated the word 'INCUMBENTS' over and over. Goldman and Honeywell are the kings of fraud in the financial and defense industries respectively and could pay some of the national debt by returning fraud. Yet they are letting us know you and I will be doing that.
I am in constant fight with public media as it becomes Wall Street driven. I listened to a favorite of mine.....The Splendid Table on American Public Media and there were 4 commercial ads during the hour and when she went to local break there were 2 more commercial ads. Garrison Keillor is no longer thanking Powder Milk Biscuits and Catsup.....he is thanking the Wall Street Journal. If you look at Baltimore's WYPR their funding totals for last year had 2/3 of funding by corporate/foundation and 1/3 by membership. They even curtailed the much hated fundraising drives last year because they didn't need members with all that private funding. THE POINT IS THAT PUBLIC MEDIA MUST BY THEIR CHARTER MEET MEMBERSHIP FUNDING RATIOS THAT THIS DOES NOT REFLECT. Now, I have seen WYPR return to fundraising more this year, but for those who love NPR/APM....you had better take these funding numbers to court. The 1% has control and we are getting corporate/global interests all the time with NO fiscal progressive views.
TAKE YOUR PUBLIC MEDIA STATION TO COURT IF THEY ARE ALLOWING IT TO GO CORPORATE.
We are hearing that Warren Buffet is buying Media General and that includes many media outlets across the south. TV, radio, and print. What makes America a democracy is free press and what keeps press free is strong, independent and regional ownership so that news is not homogenized across the country. We had mighty newsmen like Salzberger of the New York Times or Hurst of San Francisco but you did not have these people buying all other media outlets.....they only peddled their papers to a wider audience.
IT IS A VERY, VERY,VERY BAD THING TO HAVE THESE BILLIONAIRES BUYING ALL OF MEDIA AND IT IS HAPPENING UNDER OBAMA'S WATCH. NOW, WHEN OBAMA RAN IN 2008 HE PROMISED HE WOULD STOP THE MERGERS AND THE MONOPOLIES.........BUT FOR THE MOST PART.......HE HAS ALLOWED FOR EVER MORE.
This is Third Way corporate policy not fiscal Progressive. Do you hear your incumbent shouting loudly and strongly against this??????
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!!!
Warren Buffett buys into 'declining' newspapers
By Aaron Smith @CNNMoney May 29, 2012: 5:10 PM ET
Warren Buffett has signed a deal to buy 63 newspapers from Media General.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway announced a deal on Thursday to purchase 63 newspapers from Media General -- an industry that Buffett recently referred to as "declining."
Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) said it will purchase most of Media General's (MEG) daily and weekly newspapers for $142 million in cash.
Separately, Berkshire Hathaway has also signed a credit agreement with Media General for a $400 million term loan and a $45 million revolving credit line.
"In towns and cities where there is a strong sense of community, there is no more important institution than the local paper," said Buffett, a former paper boy who owns Omaha World-Herald and other publications.
Buffett's statement seems to run counter to statements that he made on May 5, at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder gathering in Omaha. At that event, Buffett referred to the newspaper industry as a "declining" industry with "problems."
When a member of the audience asked him how to deal with a declining industry, Buffett replied, "Generally it pays to stay away from declining businesses. [The] newspaper business is a declining business and we will pay a price to be in that. That is not where we will make real money at Berkshire."
But speaking about the newspaper industry in general, Buffett also said, "I think the economics will work out OK. It's nothing like the old days, but I think it will work out OK."
Buffett also said that newspapers have "lost primacy," though he added that "they are still primary in a great many areas. They still tell me something primary that I can't find elsewhere."
_______________________________________________________
Below you see why here in Maryland we cannot get free and fair coverage of issues and elections. It is a basic problem. One media company owns all of the media outlets and that media company espouses a political bent. In the Baltimore Sun's case, as with all of the small town local papers and with WJZ TV all under its ownership.... this is the Third Way corporate stance. You can see the Headquarters for the Tribune is Chicago.......home of Obama and corporate politics.
This is why incumbents are the only voice as they are all Third Way corporate. It is why we cannot get coverage of major news events like public school privatization and the massive business frauds in Maryland.
So, we must write the FCC and ask why they allowed this consolidation of the media industry and demand it be reversed. WE MUST SHOUT THAT THIS POLICY OF CONSOLIDATION IS KILLING FREE PRESS IN AMERICA AND AS SUCH DEMOCRACY. Do you hear your incumbent shouting against this?????
VOTE YOUR INCUMBENT OUT OF OFFICE!!!
In a 2007 statement of principles published in the Tribune's print and online editions, the paper's editorial board described the newspaper's philosophy, from which is excerpted the following:
The Chicago Tribune believes in the traditional principles of limited government; maximum individual responsibility; minimum restriction of personal liberty, opportunity and enterprise. It believes in free markets, free will and freedom of expression. These principles, while traditionally conservative, are guidelines and not reflexive dogmas.
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Baltimore Sun, Daily Press and The Morning Call, among others.
The 2000s Ann Marie Lipinski was the paper's editor from February 2001 until stepping down on July 17, 2008. Gerould W. Kern was named the paper's editor in July 2008.[1] In early August 2008, managing editor for news Hanke Gratteau resigned, and several weeks later, managing editor for features James Warren resigned as well.[38] Both were replaced by Jane Hirt, who previously had been the editor of the Tribune's RedEye tabloid.[38]
In June 2000, Times Mirror merged with Tribune Company making The Baltimore Sun and its community papers Baltimore Sun Media Group / Patuxent Publishing a subsidiary of Tribune.[39][40]
Tribune's Baltimore Community papers include Arbutus Times, Baltimore Messenger, Catonsville Times, Columbia Flier, Howard County Times, The Jeffersonian, Laurel Leader, Lifetimes, North County News, Northeast Booster, Northeast Reporter, Owings Mills Times, and Towson Times.
The Howard County Times (www.explorehoward.com) was named 2010 Newspaper of the Year by the Suburban Newspaper Association.[41]
The Towson Times expands coverage beyond the Towson area and includes Baltimore County government and politics
tribune wins fcc approval On Nov. 16th, the Federal Communication Commission announced that it has approved Tribune’s request for the assignment of its broadcast licenses and has granted the company waivers in the five markets where it owns both a television station and a newspaper. This decision by the FCC enables Tribune to continue moving forward toward emergence from Chapter 11, a process it expects to complete over the course of the next several weeks. Tribune will emerge in a strong financial position, as a multi-platform media company with great assets and industry-leading brands in major markets across the country
BELOW YOU SEE THE AFFECTS OF THIS CLOSED MEDIA. WE ARE SEEING PRESS FROM OUR BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR THAT SOUNDS GOOD......AND WE ARE GLAD THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT IT......BUT THESE BILLS ARE ONLY WINDOW-DRESSING THAT WILL BE USED FOR CAMPAIGN HEADLINES. IF WE HAD A HEALTHY MEDIA THESE QUESTIONS WOULD BE APART OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT. AS IT IS ....ALL WE GET IS WHAT THESE POLS SAY.
REMEMBER YESTERDAY'S HEADLINE BY JACK YOUNG OF 51% CONTRACTS WITH LOCAL HIRING????? WITH LOOPHOLES YOU CAN DRIVE A TRACTOR THROUGH AND NO OVERSIGHT???
We applaud a first step towards building small business in Baltimore after years of national chains and contractors being top dog. I would like to highlight that the few hundred thousand designated is far less than the plated sidewalk ornaments on just a few blocks in Harbor East.....it is an interest payment.
This is a time to highlight that the banks stopped lending to any and all individuals and businesses at the time of the collapse and still has very low lending rates to anyone not a major corporation. This despite all of these Federal programs that sent taxpayer money to spur lending. The Small Business Administration(SBA) can insure them.....first they have to happen. A few years ago the Federal government slashed SBA funding in half making its future survival questionable. My point is we have a much larger hole to fill and this only highlights the problem.
What we see is a move by corporate pols to create the conditions of all business revenue going to national corps and as such smaller businesses which compete for consumers are not welcome. Today, a handful of mega-corps own all of registered businesses through a succession of mergers.
The people spoke when 80% said they want wealth inequity reversed and corporate accountability. Both necessitate a return to regional and local business structure. Let's encourage this trend by voting our incumbents out of office.
Mayor launching micro-loan program for Baltimore small businesses Small businesses eligible for up to $30,000 loan
By Gus G. Sentementes, The Baltimore Sun 7:19 p.m. EST, November 20, 2012
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is launching a micro-loan fund for small businesses in Baltimore, to help them hire and stabilize their businesses.
The effort, called BaltimoreMICRO, will enable small businesses with under $1 million in annual revenue to apply for loans ranging from $5,000 to $30,000. Retailers, service providers and contractors based in Baltimore are eligible.
The program appears to be targeting small businesses, including stores and restaurants, in city neighborhoods.
New stores and restaurants in neighborhoods "bring residents together and create a buzz that attracts people from throughout the region," Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "We want that to happen in more of Baltimore's neighborhoods, and we must do what we can to support that."
Under the program, the business owner must have a minimum credit score of 650 to be considered for a loan.
Micro-lending programs are sprouting up around the country. Starbucks, the coffee retailer, launched its own micro-lending effort to support U.S. small businesses. Other nonprofits, such as Kiva.org, which allows people to make micro-loans to others in developing countries, is launching similar programs in U.S. cities, such as Detroit and Los Angeles.
In Baltimore, the initial cost of the micro-loan program will be borne by city and state taxpayers. It will be administered by the Baltimore Development Corp., the city's quasi-public development arm.
The Board of Estimates approved the city's $125,000 contribution to the fund, and also approved the city's application to the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development for a $250,000 grant.
The city's program would be in addition to the U.S. Small Business Administration's loan guaranty programs for small firms. The SBA program will guarantee loans made by a lender to a small business, up to $5 million.
gus.sentementes@baltsun.com