70 Percent

Now we have even more proof that the American public believes that Big Media is a Big Problem. A new survey shows that as the American media system has grown ever more consolidated, Americans--regardless of their political affiliation--have gotten more and more concerned.

We all understand in our guts that a healthy democracy cannot sustain itself without a rigorous, diverse, and truly independent media system. The founders of this country understood it, and we still understand it today.

The question is--will Big Media report on the results of this survey? Will the very consolidated radio stations and newspapers in the High Country talk about or discuss this survey? Generally speaking, Big Media would rather not talk about itself--call it a form of modesty.

After all, why would Big Media want to do something that might hurt the bottom line?--or give people proof that their own concerns about media consolidation might in fact be shared by 70 percent of the rest of the U.S. population?

Have a look for yourself, from the Media and Democracy Coalition:

The major findings of the poll include:

· Seventy percent of the poll respondents describe media consolidation as a problem and 42 percent of Americans describe it as a major problem. Democrats, independents and Republicans all consider ownership consolidation to be a problem in nearly equal proportions; seventy-one percent of Democrats, 73 percent of independents and 69 percent of Republicans believe increasing ownership consolidation is a problem.

· By a considerable margin of 57 percent to 30 percent, the public favors laws that make it illegal for a corporation to own both a newspaper and a television station in the same city or media market. Similar levels of support exist among political liberals (59 percent favor), moderates (58 percent favor), and conservatives (56 percent favor). Likewise, the poll finds support among both older and younger Americans (58 and 55 percent, respectively), white Americans and people of color (59 and 50 percent), and union and non-union households (59 and 56 percent).

“The quality of our country's media is not a partisan issue. This poll is proof that Americans of all political stripes are concerned about increasing media consolidation, which limits consumer choice in local markets. This is particularly true regarding cross-ownership. An overwhelming majority is opposed to one company owning both newspapers and television stations in the localities where citizen voices should matter the most," commented Joel Kelsey, Grassroots Coordinator for Consumers Union, a member of the Media and Democracy Coalition.