Corporations

"A month ago the FCC dramatically relaxed media ownership regulations, stifling the cornerstone of American democracy: a free, fair, and open public debate," MediaReform.net writes. "Because one million Americans raised their voices against the FCC decision, the Senate Commerce Committee recently sent a bill to the Senate floor for a vote that would roll back many of the rules." MediaReform.net is calling for people to contact their congressional representatives, asking them to ensure that the public airwaves serve the interests of the people and not the media monopolies.

Thirty-one corporate criminals gave more than $9 million to the Democratic and Republican parties during the 2002 election cycle, according to a report by Corporate Crime Reporter. They gave $7.2 million to Republicans (77 percent) and $2.1 million to Democrats (23 percent). The top five corporations, ranked by amount given to politicians, were Archer Daniels Midland ($1.7 million), Pfizer ($1.1 million), Chevron ($875,400), Northrop Grumman ($741,250), and American Airlines ($655,593).

The American Chemistry Council is considering an advertising campaign by ad giant Ogilvy & Mather "that would convey to the American public how essential the chemical industry is to modern life." The chemical industry trade association saw the campaign proposal, which could cost several hundred thousand dollars, at its recent exclusive membership meeting, reports Michael McCoy in Chemical & Engineer News. Ogilvy's initial market research "shows that the campaign could really 'move the needle' on the public's dim view of the industry. ...

"If we learn nothing else from the war on Iraq and its subsequent occupation, it is that the U.S. ruling class has learned to make ideological warfare as important to its operations as military and economic warfare," write Robert W. McChesney and John Bellamy Foster in this excerpt from their upcoming book, The Big Picture: Understanding Media through Political Economy.