by Dave Bradley

When we left last week, I had asked that you read the Lewis Powell memo that became the catalyst for the right wing (or as Paul Krugman refers to them – the movement conservatives) to begin a slow and methodical assault on all perceived ‘liberal’ institutions in America.

While the memo seemed to concentrate on universities – this was about the same time as the Vietnam War and the campus protests – Powell addressed all various fronts of the battle. Powell’s memo did not give details of how to engage the media, just that TV and radio were definite fronts in the battle. Powell’s plan was that business use its muscle provided by its advertising dollars to advance their cause.

The 1970s was a time for setting up the infrastructure to wage the war. This was a time when the early think tanks were developed. Their output would be instrumental in changing the discourse on issues. This is much as it is today. On an unrelated front this was also the time that National Public Radio came into being . NPR earned its chops as the young upstart willing to carry stories that other major corporate  media skipped. They were especially noted for reporting on the Vietnam War itself and the political outfall from the War in the United States.

So while the ‘70s were a time of building infrastructure, the 1980s were a time of major moves forward in the battle for control of the media. This was a time when many of what had been the structure of America’s fabric was changed. The catalyst in all these changes was the Reagan administration – the Reagan administration’s hands-off attitude on all things related to business, especially in the area of mergers and acquisitions.

The Reagan Administration also ended the Fairness Doctrine which had guaranteed opposition views on controversial issues could be heard on the nation’s airwaves. Many point to this as the beginning of the takeover of media by the right wing.

So within the structure allowed by the FCC, media consolidation began, and the variety of voices in the media were slowly quieted.  This was the beginning of the narrowing of the range of discourse in all areas of the media, radio, TV, and especially newspapers. As ownership fell to fewer and fewer hands, the variations in what was reported became less and less.

At the end of the 1980s two major stars began to rise.

Former failed disc jockey Jeff Christie reverted to his given name of Rush Limbaugh. Thanks to the end of the Fairness Doctrine, Limbaugh could now go on the air and say just about anything and there was no need for the station to have to broadcast opposing views. His program went national.

Throughout the 1980s, Gannett Company went on a huge newspaper and TV acquisition spree. Gannett acquired major newspapers throughout the country including papers such as the Detroit Free Press, Indianapolis Star and our own Des Moines Register.  The Register which had a history as one of the very top newspapers in the country was now an outlet for Gannett.

In the early 1990s, I shared a plane ride with a very recent former VP of Gannett. He had just quit his very lucrative job. I was the one he commiserated with as he shared his fears for what he saw as the future of media and how it would affect the country. I will share the conversation and discuss the Telelcommunications Act of 1996 next week.

Click
here to read the Powell memo at Reclaimdemocracy.org

Click here to read Dave’s previous post, Observations on the Media

E-mail Dave here

Dave Bradley is a self-described retired observer of American politics “trying to figure out how we got
so screwed up.”  AnI owa City native currently living in West Liberty,  Dave and his wife Carol have two grown children who “sadly had to leave the state to find decent paying jobs.” 

Dave’s
Observations on Iowa Media will appear here on Blog for Iowa Tuesdays.