Who owns CNN, NBC, MSN, FOX? Some facts...

So ya think we have a "free press" eh? Check out who owns who, and who owns what you think...

GENERAL ELECTRIC --(donated 1.1 million to GW Bush for his 2000 election campaign)

Television Holdings:
* NBC: includes 13 stations, 28% of US households.
* NBC Network News: The Today Show, Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Meet the Press, Dateline NBC, NBC News at Sunrise.
* CNBC business television; MSNBC 24-hour cable and Internet news service (co-owned by NBC and Microsoft); Court TV (co-owned with Time Warner), Bravo (50%), A&E (25%), History Channel (25%).
The "MS" in MSNBC
means microsoft
The same Microsoft that donated 2.4 million to get GW bush elected.

Other Holdings:
* GE Consumer Electronics.
* GE Power Systems: produces turbines for nuclear reactors and power plants.
* GE Plastics: produces military hardware and nuclear power equipment.
* GE Transportation Systems: runs diesel and electric trains.
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WESTINGHOUSE / CBS INC.
Westinghouse Electric Company, part of the Nuclear Utilities Business Group of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL)

Whose #1 on the Board of Directors? None other than:
Frank Carlucci (of the Carlyle Group) - Those who have seen Fahrenheit 911, or any other Bush-Investigation flick knows the Carlyle group well.

Television Holdings:
* CBS: includes 14 stations and over 200 affiliates in the US.
* CBS Network News: 60 minutes, 48 hours, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, CBS Morning News, Up to the Minute.
* Country Music Television, The Nashville Network, 2 regional sports networks.
* Group W Satellite Communications.
Other Holdings:
* Westinghouse Electric Company: provides services to the nuclear power industry.
* Westinghouse Government Environmental Services Company: disposes of nuclear and hazardous wastes. Also operates 4 government-owned nuclear power plants in the US.
* Energy Systems: provides nuclear power plant design and maintenance.
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VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC.
Television Holdings:
* Paramount Television, Spelling Television, MTV, VH-1, Showtime, The Movie Channel, UPN (joint owner), Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Sundance Channel (joint owner), Flix.
* 20 major market US stations.
Media Holdings:
* Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Video, Blockbuster Video, Famous Players Theatres, Paramount Parks.
* Simon & Schuster Publishing.

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DISNEY / ABC / CAP (donated 640 thousand to GW's 2000 campaign)
Television Holdings:
* ABC: includes 10 stations, 24% of US households.
* ABC Network News: Prime Time Live, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America.
* ESPN, Lifetime Television (50%), as well as minority holdings in A&E, History Channel and E!
* Disney Channel/Disney Television, Touchtone Television.
Media Holdings:
* Miramax, Touchtone Pictures.
* Magazines: Jane, Los Angeles Magazine, W, Discover.
* 3 music labels, 11 major local newspapers.
* Hyperion book publishers.
* Infoseek Internet search engine (43%).
Other Holdings:
* Sid R. Bass (major shares) crude oil and gas.
* All Disney Theme Parks, Walt Disney Cruise Lines.
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TIME-WARNER TBS - AOL (donated 1.6 million to GW's 2000 campaign)
America Online (AOL) acquired Time Warner�the largest merger in corporate history.
Television Holdings:
* CNN, HBO, Cinemax, TBS Superstation, Turner Network Television, Turner Classic Movies, Warner Brothers Television, Cartoon Network, Sega Channel, TNT, Comedy Central (50%), E! (49%), Court TV (50%). * Largest owner of cable systems in the US with an estimated 13 million subscribers.
Media Holdings:
* HBO Independent Productions, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera.
* Music: Atlantic, Elektra, Rhino, Sire, Warner Bros. Records, EMI, WEA, Sub Pop (distribution) = the world�s largest music company.
* 33 magazines including Time, Sports Illustrated, People, In Style, Fortune, Book of the Month Club, Entertainment Weekly, Life, DC Comics (50%), and MAD Magazine.
Other Holdings:
* Sports: The Atlanta Braves, The Atlanta Hawks, World Championship Wrestling.

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NEWS CORPORATION LTD. / FOX NETWORKS (Rupert Murdoch) (donations see bottom note)
Television Holdings:
* Fox Television: includes 22 stations, 50% of US households.
* Fox International: extensive worldwide cable and satellite networks include British Sky Broadcasting (40%); VOX, Germany (49.9%); Canal Fox, Latin America; FOXTEL, Australia (50%); STAR TV, Asia; IskyB, India; Bahasa Programming Ltd., Indonesia (50%); and News Broadcasting, Japan (80%).
* The Golf Channel (33%).
MEDIA HOLDINGS:
* Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight.
* 132 newspapers (113 in Australia alone) including the New York Post, the London Times and The Australian.
* 25 magazines including TV Guide and The Weekly Standard.
* HarperCollins books.
OTHER HOLDINGS:
* Sports: LA Dodgers, LA Kings, LA Lakers, National Rugby League.
* Ansett Australia airlines (Since bankrupt), Ansett New Zealand airlines.
* Rupert Murdoch: Board of Directors, Philip Morris (USA).

*(Phillip Morris donated 2.9 million to George W Bush in 2000)*

Gotta love the free press!!

Gee, and all of those corporations benefited from the recent FCC decisions, chaired by Michael Powell, son of Colin. Coincidence?

*shrug* I don't wanna be making any judgements or opinions here, thats up to you guys. Obviously companies pay politicians to change the rules so they can make more money though, only a 2year old does'nt see that. It's everwhere - it's an "important" part of the system.

Just the facts 'mam! =)

Both sides are in on this money game. Bush and Kerry. Any politician.

And I wonder how much they gave the other side. Very seldom do they not play both ends against the middle.

LcJ

The "other side" does not have a majority on the FCC. When they did, the FCC explictly rejected the very same proposals! Some people do have principles; the current regime just has principal (and lots of vested interest).

It is not which side they play - they'll play any side which gives them more power.

It's all about getting the power from the politicians and turning it into money by loosening regulations, etc.

That is a useless argument. We can go back to Jimmy Carter and find a crook in the Administration. It is hard to herd cats. But the accusations agains the President, I find more in the way of hatred and revenge rather than in substance.

I have had less than honest people under me and sometimes you can nail them and sometimes you cannot. If you wait long enough, the answer will be place in your lap.

I don't for a minute imagine that any orgainization as complex as that of administering the US is going to be without fault, but I do believe that we have a good person in GWB and in his spouse. I do not have the same feeling about John - John.

LcJ

Even though I think George Bush is a freakin moron, I have to admit that he seems to believe what he is doing much more than Kerry. Of course, I don't agree with his policies, but it's a good thing to be straight forward about your ideas.

Kerry is obviously just trying to sucker up to as many sides as possible, whilst not making any great claims/opinions so that he does'nt loose anybody. Weak and pathetic.

Still, he's better than Bush!

"Let individuals contribute as they desire; but let us prohibit in effective fashion all corporations from making contributions for any political purpose, directly or indirectly"

Teddy Roosevelt

- Sixth Annual
Message to Congress
December 3, 1906

MMM...

The day the corporations were given free rein to throw cash at the politicians is the day we lost true democracy.

Democracy - Only if you have a company on the New York Stock Exchange!

This is my favorite quote regarding campaign finance, corporate influence and all that.

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws our country." Thomas Jefferson, 1816

I guess old Thomas had a pretty good penchant for seeing a trend. We didn't crush it in it's birth and we'd better decide to crush it before we no longer can. I don't think it's a good idea for a gov't of, by and for the people to be so indebted to corporations. Basically, because I beleive that corporations have different interests than citizens do.

Wonder what old Tom, Ben, James or George would think of this thread? I'm guessing they'd be itching for a little revolution.

There is so much content here...

I may be writing my next amateur flick around something like this.

Thinking a doco maybe, or even better - fiction littered with fact.

Theres just so much "stuff" out there about the real situation, and fahrenheit 911 did'nt give even 1/10th of the whole story. "Truth and Lies of 911" gives the best "big picture", and theres a few others out there which have explored good territory, like "The Corporation" and bowling.

I noticed left out Unions & and trial lawers?

Yer...

And imagine all the other anonymous super rich types with political interests that we don't know of...

Anybody with, hmm, I dunno, $10-20mil in the bank could afford to throw a million to a politician for a bit of policy-tweakage.

Theres more than a handful of people with $10-20million in the world!

Just not you or me...well, I speak for myself at least!

Soros (sp)