- Sep 12, 2009
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A Black Agenda Radio commentary by executive editor Glen Ford
Sometime in the late Seventies, the Black political class decided that ownership of media was more
important than making programming that is accountable to the African American
public. Today, Blacks neither own nor control the TV programming they consume. Except for Armstrong Williams,
the “rightwing propagandist and hustler” who wants the FCC to favor him with a diversity ruling.
“Williams claims that he is known to provide broadcast content that reflects a minority perspective.”
The Federal Communications Commission this week dealt at least a potential blow to the monopolists
who have sucked every drop of social value out of American commercial television. The
FCC ruled that TV stations that sell substantial portions of other TV stations advertizing, are the real owners of
the station, and thus are violating rules against multiple ownerships in the same market. The practice
of joint advertizing has meant that many stations are little more than shells for getting around the
rules against monopolization. The National Association of Black Journalists applauds the FCC action,
since shared advertizing agreements usually mean firing the whole newsroom of one of the stations.
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council supports the ruling, because the
shared advertizing game only helps the media giants eat up the smaller guys.
One person who’s not happy is Armstrong Williams, the Black rightwing propagandist and hustler who
calls himself a journalist. Williams owns two stations that are essentially extra channels for stations
already owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, which is the largest operator of non-network affiliated
stations in the country. Williams claims that Black people in Flint, Michigan, and Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina, will suffer if he loses his stations there, since he is known to provide broadcast content that
reflects a minority perspective. Now, that’s a joke! Armstrong Williams, whose mentor was South
Carolina’s rabidly racist Sen. Strom Thurmond, has never uttered or written a word that was relevant
to the hopes and dreams of most Black people. In political terms, Armstrong Williams most closely
resembles the character played by Samuel L. Jackson in Django Unchained.
Read more: http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/armstrong-williams-wants-“diversity”-favor-fcc
Sometime in the late Seventies, the Black political class decided that ownership of media was more
important than making programming that is accountable to the African American
public. Today, Blacks neither own nor control the TV programming they consume. Except for Armstrong Williams,
the “rightwing propagandist and hustler” who wants the FCC to favor him with a diversity ruling.
“Williams claims that he is known to provide broadcast content that reflects a minority perspective.”
The Federal Communications Commission this week dealt at least a potential blow to the monopolists
who have sucked every drop of social value out of American commercial television. The
FCC ruled that TV stations that sell substantial portions of other TV stations advertizing, are the real owners of
the station, and thus are violating rules against multiple ownerships in the same market. The practice
of joint advertizing has meant that many stations are little more than shells for getting around the
rules against monopolization. The National Association of Black Journalists applauds the FCC action,
since shared advertizing agreements usually mean firing the whole newsroom of one of the stations.
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council supports the ruling, because the
shared advertizing game only helps the media giants eat up the smaller guys.
One person who’s not happy is Armstrong Williams, the Black rightwing propagandist and hustler who
calls himself a journalist. Williams owns two stations that are essentially extra channels for stations
already owned by Sinclair Broadcasting, which is the largest operator of non-network affiliated
stations in the country. Williams claims that Black people in Flint, Michigan, and Myrtle Beach, South
Carolina, will suffer if he loses his stations there, since he is known to provide broadcast content that
reflects a minority perspective. Now, that’s a joke! Armstrong Williams, whose mentor was South
Carolina’s rabidly racist Sen. Strom Thurmond, has never uttered or written a word that was relevant
to the hopes and dreams of most Black people. In political terms, Armstrong Williams most closely
resembles the character played by Samuel L. Jackson in Django Unchained.
Read more: http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/armstrong-williams-wants-“diversity”-favor-fcc