The "free press" : $b portrait of a monopoly — John Shaqi
The "free press" : $b portrait of a monopolyMarion, George
History
The "free press" : $b portrait of a monopoly
Marion, George
Press -- United States
Is there anything we can do about the present super-monopoly control of
our press which gags all but a handful of the 140,000,000 Americans?
The individual writer can hardly formulate meaningful proposals along
this line. Labor itself, particularly the larger progressive unions,
the C.I.O. as a whole, and strong combinations in industrial areas
where trade union membership is concentrated, must certainly give more
thought to the publication of newspapers. To be successful, they will
need labor’s formal participation but they must not be limited to trade
union scope. On the contrary, they should champion labor’s political
and other interests, as well as the interests of the people as a
whole. Labor must also seek a more direct voice in the few relatively
pro-labor dailies now in circulation, because direct participation
will reduce the waverings to which liberal papers tend. _Labor must
also combat the commodity-news pattern and help create an audience for
balanced, trustworthy information. A labor paper should aim at that
end._
Beyond that, labor and liberals should consider legislation to ease the
present monopoly. Postal and communications subsidies--free mailing,
in fact--plus other government aid, should be given to newspapers and
mail-circulation newsletters of responsible popular bodies. At the
same time, government subsidies should be taken away from the monopoly
press; private enterprise should be compelled to stand on its own feet
in the publishing business.
Finally, the truth about the American press--that it is the
uncontrolled and unlimited voice of monopoly capital--should not
operate to discourage constant pressure on the owners to deal fairly
and adopt more liberal policies. This is a democracy, whatever its
monopoly limitations; the publishers cannot completely ignore voices
that are numerous enough and insistent enough. But the pressure should
be concentrated where it has most chance to do good: on the powerful
pro-fascist press bloc responsible for the worst excesses of our
monopoly press. The recent picket lines and boycott of the _Daily
News_ in protest against columnist John O’Donnell’s anti-Semitic
provocations, demonstrate that results can be obtained. As a matter
of fact, the “Fascist fringe” is very vulnerable. A good, strong,
nationwide boycott, centering on the more blatantly fascist preachings
of the bloc, might very well act as a deterrent and check on both
policy and ownership. The curbing of the reactionary bloc would improve
the whole tone of the press. This is the nearest thing to an attainable
free press objective in the United States, at least for today.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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