Media monopolies give to… Kerry

by on August 18, 2004 · 6 comments

A few weeks ago, perhaps upset that the broadcast networks didn’t feel compelled to offer gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Democratic convention, John Kerry stated his opposition to media consolidation, supporting stronger ownership rules. A threat then, to the big media companies? They don’t seem to think so. According to figures from the Center for Responsive Politics (as reported in today’s Internet Daily), Kerry has received far more in cash from media companies than President Bush–beating him $1.9 million to $1.1 million. Overall, some 2/3 of media dollars this cycle has gone to Dems, with Time Warner giving 72% and Viacom 74% to the Democrats. So much for the Left’s claim that big media corporations are part of the vast right-wing conspiracy. If only they were. Instead, they are more influenced by their Hollywood roots than Washington battles. Combine that with the general masochistic tendency of U.S. corporations to support their own detractors, and the CRP figures may not be that surprising.

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About James Gattuso

James Gattuso is a Senior Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy in the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Gattuso also leads the Enterprise and Free Markets Initiative at Heritage, with responsiblity for a range of regulatory and market issues. Prior to joining Heritage, he served as Vice President for Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and also as Vice President for Policy Development with Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE). From 1990 to 1993, he was Deputy Chief of the Office of Plans and Policy at the Federal Communications Commission. From May 1991 to June 1992, he was detailed from the FCC to the office of Vice President Dan Quayle, where he served as Associate Director of the President's Council on Competitiveness. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Dana, 8 year-old son, Peter (whom he relies upon to operate his VCR), and his four year-old daughter Lindsey (who does the DVD player.) He has no known hobbies, but is not nearly as boring as he seems.

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  • anon

    Would the big networks want to have relaxed ownership rules? That would worsen their position with their affiliates, and aren’t they interested in flipping that relationship to be like a PBS model (local stations pay up)?

    I’m a conservative, and I’ll admit Sinclair is part of the VRWC…

  • anon

    Would the big networks want to have relaxed ownership rules? That would worsen their position with their affiliates, and aren’t they interested in flipping that relationship to be like a PBS model (local stations pay up)?

    I’m a conservative, and I’ll admit Sinclair is part of the VRWC…

  • James Gattuso

    Good point. By and large, though, the networks have been supportive of the rule changes, most notably the limits on how many affiliates can be owned (which is the one that became most controversial in Congress). The affiliates opposed that one, but supported other changes. Nevertheless, I’ll be the first to agree that the networks haven’t always been on the side of free markets. (Can you spell HDTV?).

  • James Gattuso

    Good point. By and large, though, the networks have been supportive of the rule changes, most notably the limits on how many affiliates can be owned (which is the one that became most controversial in Congress). The affiliates opposed that one, but supported other changes. Nevertheless, I’ll be the first to agree that the networks haven’t always been on the side of free markets. (Can you spell HDTV?).

  • http://www.msn.com Rayn

    I really enjoyed reading your blog today, best of luck. RyanX

  • http://www.msn.com Rayn

    I really enjoyed reading your blog today, best of luck. RyanX

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