Underbelly of Power: Inhabitants and Associates
In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy's crusade against the perceived threat of communism was labelled as the "international communist conspiracy." Fast forward to the present day, and the landscape of media ownership has undergone a significant transformation.
The mainstream media, in the current political climate, is predominantly controlled by a handful of corporate conglomerates and billionaires. This consolidation, facilitated by regulatory changes and political decisions, particularly under the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has resulted in a relaxation of ownership limits designed to ensure diversity of voices in media.
Longstanding rules like the National Television Multiple Ownership Rule, which capped the reach of a single broadcaster to 39% of the national audience, have been targeted for relaxation. This would allow large companies such as Sinclair, Nexstar, and Fox Corporation to expand their influence, often resulting in reduced local journalism and a rightward ideological shift in news coverage.
A 2025 federal court ruling also vacated some FCC restrictions on owning multiple top stations in a local market, reinforcing deregulatory trends favoring media consolidation. This concentration of media ownership leads to an oligarchic capture, where a small number of wealthy owners use media outlets as tools for political and economic influence, sometimes supported by state advertising and subsidies that favor pro-government media and undermine editorial independence.
However, when it comes to counterintelligence and the criminal justice system, the provided texts do not offer direct information on who controls these sectors or how control came about. The focus of the texts is primarily on media ownership and related political influence.
In a different context, McCarthy's accusations of communist infiltration in government, subverting U.S. policy, and betraying servicemen on battlefields, echo in today's society, with individuals identified as communist infiltrators or "fellow travelers" holding significant positions in the mainstream media, counterintelligence, and criminal justice system.
Yet, the parallels between McCarthy's era and the present day are not without controversy. Critics dismiss McCarthy as a fear-monger and a witch-hunter, while some contemporary pundits level similar accusations against those who express concern about the current state of media ownership and political influence.
The author's assertions about the left's alleged persecution of Bible-believing Christians, or the use of reducing carbon footprint as an attempt to sabotage capitalism, remain unsupported by evidence presented in the texts. Similarly, the claim that the left may use homosexual marriage as a legal mechanism for persecuting the country's anticommunist core, or that the communists are behind the alignment of culture with their goals, are implied rather than explicitly stated.
The author's use of metaphors such as swamp land to suggest that the alignment of culture with communist goals is unlikely to be accidental, adds a layer of interpretation to the text, making it an engaging read, but also requiring careful consideration of the author's underlying arguments.
In conclusion, the texts provide insight into the consolidation of media control into the hands of a few corporate conglomerates and politically influenced billionaires, a process propelled by the relaxation of regulatory safeguards under political administrations like Trump’s FCC policies, court rulings favoring deregulation, and oligarchic economic interests manipulating media markets and funding. The texts, however, do not offer explicit evidence to support the author's more controversial claims about the left's intentions and actions.
- The consolidation of media ownership in the present day, under the influence of political decisions, particularly those of the Trump administration's Federal Communications Commission (FCC), may lead to media outlets becoming tools for political and economic influence, reminiscent of the era of McCarthy's accusations of communist infiltration.
- In today's media landscape, a small number of wealthy owners may use their outlets to support pro-government media and undermine editorial independence, similar to the oligarchic capture alluded to in the McCarthy era.
- The texts suggest a correlation between the relaxation of regulatory safeguards and the concentration of media ownership, a trend that occurs not just in America, but possibly in China, given China's history of state control over media and communication.
- While the texts focus on media ownership and political influence, the implications of these trends extend to fields such as counterintelligence and the criminal justice system, as the parallels between McCarthy's era and the present day indicate.
