Robert McChesney Quotes & Sayings

“But having said that, what's happening with campaign finance reform and our political culture is devastating.”

“Local television news, on both radio and television, is so appalling. Makes print journalism look like the greatest stuff ever written.”

“One survey that I saw that was published I think in Variety or Electronic Media within the last three weeks says that now the average hour of radio in the United States has 18 minutes of commercials.”

“As the mainstream media has become increasingly dependent on advertising revenues for support, it has become an anti-democratic force in society.”

“The number one lobby that opposes campaign finance reform in the United States is the National Association of Broadcasters.”

“But having said that, there's also a sea change in attitude towards media.”

“Basically what they're saying is, if you want to be on TV, if you want to be a credible candidate, you've got to buy ads. And if you're not buying ads, you're not a credible candidate, we don't cover you.”

“When the government picked companies and gave them monopoly rights to frequencies in San Francisco and Los Angeles and New York and Chicago, it was picking the winners of the competition; it wasn't setting the terms of the competition.”

“Which is supposed to mean they're doing something in their broadcasting they would not do is they were simply out to maximize profit; if they were really public service institutions, not purely profit maximizing institutions.”

“When the government allocates monopoly rights to frequency, and there are only a handful in each community, it's picking the winners in the competition.”