Spread the Power Around or how centralized power benefits the rich and powerful at your expense
Gregg Jocoy
April 23, 2006
Spread the Power Around
Greens follow the Ten Key Values. One of these key values is decentralization. That?s essentially a five dollar word for ?No one should have too much control.? Concentrating power into a few hands means that differing opinions are less likely to see the light of day. Positions staked out by company executives in California can ultimately determine the position taken by every daily or weekly in my South Carolina county.
An example is the Calpine power plant controversy of a few years ago. Both the Fort Mill Times and the Herald endorsed the project in their editorial pages. Both newspapers are owned by the McClatchy Group. The current newspaper leadership did a good job of covering all sides of the controversy. The next group may not be as good. With only one print news source, how are we to feel comfortable if all of them endorse a county-wide bond issue, or a new nuclear power plant in or near York County?
YC Magazine is the only print media outlet in York County not owned by a Sacramento, California based media giant. The McClatchy Group already owns every other York County newspaper. Their pending purchase of Knight-Ridder will leave them owning many of South Carolina?s most important daily and weekly newspapers. In addition to owning the Fort Mill Times, the Herald, the Lake Wylie Pilot, the Yorkville Enquirer and the Clover Herald, the McClatchy Group owns YorkCounty.com. Their purchase of Knight-Ridder will give them control of the State, the "newspaper of record" for the entire state and the Charlotte Observer, which is also distributed across the entire state.
Is this fair? Should only one company, and an out-of-state company to boot, own all the weekly and daily newspapers covering York County South Carolina? Soon they will.
The First Amendment demands Freedom of the Press. All Greens support this. All thinking people do. Freedom of the press is a joint freedom. I can exercise my Freedom of Speech by simply speaking my mind. I can practice my Freedom of Religion by praying when and where I want. I can call up a group of friends and we can use our Freedom to Assemble. I can sign my own letter to the President and use my Freedom to Demand Redress of Grievances. It?s a big amendment folks.
It is a much harder thing to produce any sort of newspaper alone. Therefore, the right of a free press is given not only to individuals, but to groups of individuals who band together to report the news.
The McClatchy Group is a corporation, and as such should have no individual rights. People have rights. Corporations are not people. But protecting the First Amendment right to Freedom of the Press overrides concerns about protecting corporate rights in my opinion. The people who own McClatchy have a right to own all of York County?s daily and weekly newspapers. The Constitution says so. That doesn?t mean it?s good for York County.
So, how would Greens address this challenge? I?m not sure, but a belief in decentralization means that establishing some sort of government controlled print media is not the answer. Giving government more power by giving them a printing press is not a good idea. Inviting another behemoth, like Gannett, to buy or establish a newspaper in York County would likely not succeed.
By providing access to government sponsored or required ?legal advertisements? to new or smaller publications, the government can give an incentive to a new publisher to enter the market. It?s not impossible to imagine that a newspaper publisher in another smaller community in South Carolina would recognize the incentive, and take advantage of it. All this would be at no cash cost to the people of York County.
Is this a reasonable approach? I don?t know. I am not a media expert. I am not a lawyer, publisher or financial wiz. I am just a guy with an opinion. That opinion is that we here in York County would be better off if print media in our county were not so centralized.
Greens believe in decentralization. If the people want a safe, sane and sustainable future for our families and children, we must look to Green Values like decentralization as a guide. Democrats and Republicans, despite their constant braying about making government smaller, continue to concentrate power in the hands of the government. So long as they are in control, both Democrats and Republicans seem happy to continue to centralize power into fewer hands.
If you think that bigger is better, then you?re not a Green. If you believe that local control, community based decision making and a widely educated and involved citizenry is a reasonable way to stop the destruction of the planet, I think your choice is clear.
To get involved in the Green Party in South Carolina, click here! To get involved in the York County (SC) Greens, click here! To visit my regular blog, just step this way.
Greens follow the Ten Key Values. One of these key values is decentralization. That?s essentially a five dollar word for ?No one should have too much control.? Concentrating power into a few hands means that differing opinions are less likely to see the light of day. Positions staked out by company executives in California can ultimately determine the position taken by every daily or weekly in my South Carolina county.
An example is the Calpine power plant controversy of a few years ago. Both the Fort Mill Times and the Herald endorsed the project in their editorial pages. Both newspapers are owned by the McClatchy Group. The current newspaper leadership did a good job of covering all sides of the controversy. The next group may not be as good. With only one print news source, how are we to feel comfortable if all of them endorse a county-wide bond issue, or a new nuclear power plant in or near York County?
YC Magazine is the only print media outlet in York County not owned by a Sacramento, California based media giant. The McClatchy Group already owns every other York County newspaper. Their pending purchase of Knight-Ridder will leave them owning many of South Carolina?s most important daily and weekly newspapers. In addition to owning the Fort Mill Times, the Herald, the Lake Wylie Pilot, the Yorkville Enquirer and the Clover Herald, the McClatchy Group owns YorkCounty.com. Their purchase of Knight-Ridder will give them control of the State, the "newspaper of record" for the entire state and the Charlotte Observer, which is also distributed across the entire state.
Is this fair? Should only one company, and an out-of-state company to boot, own all the weekly and daily newspapers covering York County South Carolina? Soon they will.
The First Amendment demands Freedom of the Press. All Greens support this. All thinking people do. Freedom of the press is a joint freedom. I can exercise my Freedom of Speech by simply speaking my mind. I can practice my Freedom of Religion by praying when and where I want. I can call up a group of friends and we can use our Freedom to Assemble. I can sign my own letter to the President and use my Freedom to Demand Redress of Grievances. It?s a big amendment folks.
It is a much harder thing to produce any sort of newspaper alone. Therefore, the right of a free press is given not only to individuals, but to groups of individuals who band together to report the news.
The McClatchy Group is a corporation, and as such should have no individual rights. People have rights. Corporations are not people. But protecting the First Amendment right to Freedom of the Press overrides concerns about protecting corporate rights in my opinion. The people who own McClatchy have a right to own all of York County?s daily and weekly newspapers. The Constitution says so. That doesn?t mean it?s good for York County.
So, how would Greens address this challenge? I?m not sure, but a belief in decentralization means that establishing some sort of government controlled print media is not the answer. Giving government more power by giving them a printing press is not a good idea. Inviting another behemoth, like Gannett, to buy or establish a newspaper in York County would likely not succeed.
By providing access to government sponsored or required ?legal advertisements? to new or smaller publications, the government can give an incentive to a new publisher to enter the market. It?s not impossible to imagine that a newspaper publisher in another smaller community in South Carolina would recognize the incentive, and take advantage of it. All this would be at no cash cost to the people of York County.
Is this a reasonable approach? I don?t know. I am not a media expert. I am not a lawyer, publisher or financial wiz. I am just a guy with an opinion. That opinion is that we here in York County would be better off if print media in our county were not so centralized.
Greens believe in decentralization. If the people want a safe, sane and sustainable future for our families and children, we must look to Green Values like decentralization as a guide. Democrats and Republicans, despite their constant braying about making government smaller, continue to concentrate power in the hands of the government. So long as they are in control, both Democrats and Republicans seem happy to continue to centralize power into fewer hands.
If you think that bigger is better, then you?re not a Green. If you believe that local control, community based decision making and a widely educated and involved citizenry is a reasonable way to stop the destruction of the planet, I think your choice is clear.
To get involved in the Green Party in South Carolina, click here! To get involved in the York County (SC) Greens, click here! To visit my regular blog, just step this way.
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