Media conglomeration isn't good for nation or Valley

Media conglomeration isn't good for nation or Valley
EDITOR:
On Monday, the regulations preventing media conglomerates from owning all of our nation's airwaves will be further relaxed by the Federal Communications Commission. The new regulations will remove restrictions that currently prevent companies from monopolizing print and broadcast media in a single city. What does this mean for us here in the Mahoning Valley? Even less choice in an already severely limited market.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell has repeatedly ignored requests from Congress to open up the development of these rules and regulations to public debate. How can a servant of the public, albeit an appointed one, refuse to allow public opinion to be entered into discussions regarding public airwaves?
I fear that we are heading down a very dangerous path where the only news and opinions available to the masses will be dictated by a handful of multinational corporations. It's already happening (just look at AOL/Time-Warner, Clear Channel, Microsoft/NBC, News Corp., etc.), and with these new regulations the situation will only get worse.
Do you really want your news hand-picked and spoon-fed to you by self-interested corporations? How do you feel about the fact that nearly every radio station in the Valley is owned by Clear Channel? With these new regulations they could easily buy their way into the newspaper business as well. Is it in our best interest to further reduce diversity in the media? Who will hear your voice if this is allowed to continue?
I believe the FCC needs a major shakeup or, better yet, completely dismantled and rebuilt from scratch -- with elected, not appointed, officials who represent the public interest and not just the government and corporate America.
SEAN FULKERSON
Boardman
Moses who? Name the city for someone who counts
EDITOR:
Hip! Hip! Hooray! LeBron has arrived in Cleveland to save the city from ruin. I am surprised that the name of the city hasn't been changed to LeBron, Ohio. I don't know this young man personally but I do wish him all the best. He has all the money he could want and didn't do anything to earn it except that he is tall and can dribble a ball. He is no Michael Jordan that's for sure. Michael Jordan is a class act and time will tell if LeBron will ever measure up.
This young man was permitted to break the rules in accepting gifts that were not allowed. This should have been the end of the story. He should have been taken down a peg or two when he broke the rules. But, no, we sent him a message, didn't we? We said as long as you would make a lot of people rich, you can break, bend and throw out rules. Rules are only for certain people. The end justifies the means.
I guess the Cavs can relax and not worry about their "team" as long as LeBron is here. They can all sit back and watch him win all by himself.
He will never be my hero. My heroes are soldiers, police officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses, teachers, care givers in nursing homes, etc. who protect and serve us every day. Common people who really do for many people. Not because they are tall and can dribble a ball, but because they are extraordinary people doing ordinary jobs. The young people who come from poor neighborhoods and ghettos who grow up and make something of themselves through hard work.
The amount of money this young man will earn is over and above reason. Who deserves $90 million? I just think that Einstein, Columbus, Martin Luther King, Ben Franklin, Malcom X, are turning over in their graves because they did very important things for a fraction of what LeBron is making.
It is our fault for allowing athletes to make more money than they could possibly spend in their lifetimes. We buy into the hype and buy tickets to see them. Not me!
PAT ZOCCALI
Warren