It's Time to Break Up Big Media
Five media companies control more than 90% of the industry
Last week, Donald Trump succeeded in strong-arming Disney and ABC into suspending Jimmy Kimmel.
It was as chilling an attack on freedom of speech as we’ve seen in generations.
But hundreds of thousands of people stood up and spoke out—and Disney ended up backing down. Jimmy Kimmel returned to the airwaves on most ABC stations last night.
Attacks like these are made so much easier when only a handful of mega-corporations control what we see, hear, and scroll through every day.
Forty years ago, 50 different companies comprised 90% of the U.S. media market. That number is now down to just five. All of those corporations have mergers that need to be approved by the federal government. And every media company is vulnerable to corrupt threats or promised rewards coming from Trump and his hand-picked FCC chair.
That includes corporations like Nexstar—who just announced they will keep Jimmy Kimmel’s show off the air on its 32 local ABC stations, and who needs Donald Trump’s approval for a $6 billion merger.
Right now, the Trump administration is growing more desperate by the day.
Whatever support they once enjoyed from working people is sinking as fast as grocery prices, health care costs, and our other bills are rising.
They may be growing weaker and weaker in the polls, but we know what their playbook will be—more threats, more bullying, and more attempts to try and silence our voices and our votes in order to hold on to power. And these media companies will continue to be in their sights.
This is about so much more than just late-night TV. Donald Trump wants the power to cancel, prosecute, or deport anyone who looks at him the wrong way. He’s a thin-skinned leader who can’t stand the idea that someone might disagree with him.
He’s also the second least popular president in recent history at this moment in his term—second only to himself. And that combination is a dangerous one.
And as we’ve seen over and over, institutions and corporations who could stand up to him are either afraid to do so or more than willing to go along.
But we’ve also seen what happens when regular people decide to stand up and fight back against this deeply unpopular administration: the bullies end up caving.
We believe power in America doesn’t come from a throne. And it doesn’t come from a corporate boardroom. It comes from the people. And the people are saying that they’ve had enough.
- Working Families Power
Yes. These mega conglomerates should have never happened. But thanks to deregulation, here we are.
Once we regain control of Congress, the Senate and the Presidency we will have to work on cancelling everything that the Trump Administration has Fuk'd up.