Last Days of Truth: Big Lenders Buying Up Big Media

**MustavaMond** · 05-10-2009, 08:27 AM

http://www.opednews.com/populum/link...p?linkid=98204

>>>>>>>>>

Goldman Sachs and other lenders just swapped debt for 85% of Nassau Broadcasting Partners LP's equity. Nassau operates 51 radio stations along the East Coast. Nassau had to put its Cape Cod, Mass., stations into a separate company, because Goldman has another radio investment in Cape Cod and didn't want its stake to cause a conflict with the FCC.
Throw companies like Tribune into the mix where JP Morgan will allegedly end up with an majority equity stake, and one wonders why Goldman and JPM were so eager to provide "rescue" financings to virtually the entire distressed media space: both companies knew too well that sooner or later they would end up with full equity control over essentially the most coveted industry: thousands of TV stations, radio channels, newspaper and magazines.

If you thought the media propaganda was unbearable now, just wait.

Nonetheless, one doubts that much will be made by the FCC of JP Morgan's or Goldman Sachs' stealthily encroaching control of the entire media world. After all, they already pretty much already control the airwaves. This way their domination of the 4th estate and the idiot tube will soon be complete.
Alas, all these funds operate primarily out of their offshore accounts. So while they just now start the long, hard process of convincing the FCC they have nothing but the best P&L intentions, Goldman and JPM, or better known as the Treasury and the Fed, will have long cemented their controlling stakes in a streamlined, deleveraged media industry.

**Another Farang** · 05-10-2009, 10:54 AM

jeepers creepers!

**Rural Surin** · 05-10-2009, 11:27 AM

...and the American government bailed this lot out. Sad, really.

**tuktukdriver** · 05-10-2009, 06:22 PM

Newspapers are doomed so no big deal there. The only thing they could do to harm me with radio is play a 24 hour Coldplay marathon. After watching the Notre Dame vs Washington football game yesterday I think TV has already rigged that sport. Just so long as they stay away from the internet I'm OK.

**Tom Sawyer** · 05-10-2009, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by Rural Surin

...and the American government bailed this lot out. Sad, really.

Oh but there's hope!!

They said they're also going to go after off-shore bank accounts!

I equate that to pissing in the wind..

**Tom Sawyer** · 05-10-2009, 07:47 PM

Originally Posted by tuktukdriver

Just so long as they stay away from the internet I'm OK.

You're kiddin' right?

**BobR** · 05-10-2009, 10:50 PM

The consolidation of the media is the greatest threat facing America and probably most other western countries. Sadly, most people are either too stupid or too ill informed by those same media companies to realize it.

**the dogcatcher** · 05-10-2009, 11:04 PM

Own the media, Rule the world!

**Jet Gorgon** · 05-10-2009, 11:58 PM

555 And who owns NBC? Give it a rest.

**Jesus Jones** · 06-10-2009, 12:07 AM

Originally Posted by tuktukdriver

Newspapers are doomed so no big deal there. The only thing they could do to harm me with radio is play a 24 hour Coldplay marathon. After watching the Notre Dame vs Washington football game yesterday I think TV has already rigged that sport. Just so long as they stay away from the internet I'm OK.

You'll be lucky as cyber terrorism is the next planned agenda. They'll have the usual dumbed down believe cyber control is in their best interest.

**Rural Surin** · 06-10-2009, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

555 And who owns NBC? Give it a rest.

You don't seem to realize that all the mainstream commercial media venues are all under the same big-top. This illusional ideal that there is a liberal or conservative difference is falacy. One and the same.

**StrontiumDog** · 06-10-2009, 11:43 AM

A year ago they were too big to fall.

Now they are too powerful to touch.

Nice.

**BobR** · 06-10-2009, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

555 And who owns NBC? Give it a rest.

The last I knew, it was owned by General Electric. In reality, although they still make jet engines and high end electronics like medical and avionics, they are really more of a financial firm than a manufacturing one. Sorry, but I fail to see your point.

**HermantheGerman** · 08-10-2009, 02:38 AM

Nonetheless, one doubts that much will be made by the FCC of JP Morgan's or Goldman Sachs' stealthily encroaching control of the entire media world. After all, they already pretty much already control the airwaves. This way their domination of the 4th estate and the idiot tube will soon be complete.

brought to you by the people of:

Why we need to attack Iraq !
and
Why Afghanistan is the biggest danger

of the world !

**Jet Gorgon** · 08-10-2009, 02:51 AM

Originally Posted by BobR

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

555 And who owns NBC? Give it a rest.

The last I knew, it was owned by General Electric. In reality, although they still make jet engines and high end electronics like medical and avionics, they are really more of a financial firm than a manufacturing one. Sorry, but I fail to see your point.

Follow the money.

Here is NBC and ABC breakdown. Jeffrey Immelt who is the CEO of GE (NBC) and its PAC have contributed millions of dollars to the DNC and to the Obama campaign.
It gave a million and a half to Dems and about 800,000 to Republicans. $400,000 directly to candidate Obama, and about 80,000 to McCain.

A sister company of NBC, GE Financials (also owned by GE) gave it's total contribution limits to Democrats. GE Financials is also getting a huge chunk back from the bank bailout.

MSNBC? Follow the money.

Interestingly, the third top contributor to Mr. Obama was Microsoft. Ever hear of MSNBC? And you wonder why it has a liberal slant? $800,000 to Obama from Microsoft, and $400,000 from GE (NBC). Thus the owners of MSNBC (Microsoft and GE) gave candidate Obama $1.2 million in soft money. Other PACS and organizations of GE and Microsoft also contributed to Mr. Obama.

Democrats are the biggest recipient of money from the companies that own broadcasting networks.

CBS, NBC and ABC buy Democrats. Follow the money.

General Electric, the world's largest industrial company, has quietly become the biggest beneficiary of one of the government's key rescue programs for banks.
...
There is much more on how they get the funds without the strings of most real banks. Missing from the lead is how GE though its NBC and MSNBC news divisions have been major suck ups and supporters of the Obama administration. This profitable arrangement should constitute a major conflict of interest that the news divisions should at least disclose as they continue to heap praise on Obama and attack conservatives and Republicans.

PrairiePundit: GE sucks up to Obama while sucking up TARP funds

Shortly after the pullback on the shield programme was announced, Russia's government said Prime Minister Vladimir Putin would meet several U.S. executives on Friday from firms including General Electric, Morgan Stanley as well as TPG, one of the world's largest private equity firms

General Electric may be the company with the closest ties to the Obama administration (if not, GE is second only to Goldman Sachs), and here we see the company benefiting from an abrupt foreign policy change made by President Obama.
...
GE CEO Jeff Immelt sits on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and GE owns MSNBC, the network famously friendly to Obama.

Obama helps strengthen General Electric-Putin ties | Washington Examiner

Does that answer your question? Tip of the iceberg, too.

**Rattanaburi** · 08-10-2009, 07:20 AM

Lots of big takeovers but doesn't seem like many small investors benefit form them.

**Tom Sawyer** · 09-10-2009, 07:27 PM

Originally Posted by BobR

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

555 And who owns NBC? Give it a rest.

The last I knew, it was owned by General Electric. In reality, although they still make jet engines and high end electronics like medical and avionics, they are really more of a financial firm than a manufacturing one. Sorry, but I fail to see your point.

He's suggesting that the media - in this case NBC - are receiving favors for backing Obama.

But the bigger picture is that the media are controlled by multi-national companies (like GE) who are not buying these companies cause they think they can make money from them per se. It's more about controling (or framing) the information that you receive - and thus favorable coverage of pro-capitalist bailouts, etc. For example, take the economic-financial crisis, they distract your attention by jumping on the bonuses paid to a few - while generally supporting bailouts and supporting a status-quo (no change) in the system that led us here - socializing corporate debt, but not profit. It's not a 'jobs or unemployment' crisis when they frame it...it's a financial crisis according to them - shift blame away from the out of control Reganite-Milton Friedman system of no-holds-barred capitalism.

As someone else said above, there is no real difference in American media - it's all right-of-center (pro-capitalist and anti-social development) - there are just differing degrees of that. The same can be said for most other Western countries' media.

We've been robbed in our own countries - and the media have tried to tell us 'no we haven't'.

Thread: Last Days of Truth: Big Lenders Buying Up Big Media

Thread Tools

Display

Last Days of Truth: Big Lenders Buying Up Big Media

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

Posting Permissions