Clear Channel Part Deux

Forgot to post more Kriston editorial:

that article on clear channel is fantastic. michael copps - he's a democrat commissioner on the FCC, an ardent anti-deregulation (which is somehow different from plain ol' regulation) advocate, and only one letter off - is my hero.

did you know in the original telecom act - which is responsible for the clear channel hydra - republicans wanted to propose that it should be legal if one company wanted to own the entire radio spectrum? can you even imagine?? that one company should control the affectations of an entire spectrum of wavelength. one company with categorical ownership of an entire branch of physics! incredible. i can only imagine if, say, aol-time-warner were to buy the visible wavelength. "sorry - only blue light for standard subscibers. for $39.95 a month, though, we can introduce you to our newest customization - red!"

that's the shittiest part of it all - that clear channel can force everyone else out of the industy, and then pass off total shit as a product. that is fucked. blockbuster surely owns the largest after-theatre market, but they don't control in a structural sense what movies people are interested in. starbucks has been most influential in the rhetoric of coffee, engineering all that venti latte crema lingo, but i earnestly believe that people get not a lot more excited about a starbucks coffee than a folger's coffee. nike leads the shoe industry, but doesn't lead shoes in any significant way.

clear channel is a completely different beast. i would say that american idol -perhaps with simon as the only judge, and contestants forced to pay thousands just to walk in the door, and simon summarily executing every contestant with artistic tendencies or general talent, might be a decent metaphor....