Manufacturing Consent, VI: A Brief History of The FCC & Related Legislation

First, this by George Orwell--"Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without any need for official ban." I will add that the silence and the darkness are all the easier if a media elite owns most information outlets, which is where we are today.

Senator John McCain, at a congressional hearing--"When is the endpoint to all of this? Why not have Rupert Murdoch buy another company, then Comcast another, and on it goes. At some point, you'll have many voices--and one ventriloquist."

We don't know when it will all end. Here is a breakdown of shrinking media ownership--

In 1983, 50 owners

In 1987, 29

In 1990, 23

in 1992, 14

In 1997, 10

In 2004, 6 owners for 94 percent of the entire media

Understand that this is a sketch of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and omits important information in some instances. Its chief advantage is that it is presented in chronological order.