Media Muddle

   The independent -- and often liberal -- voices heard and seen in American journalism may be in danger of being silenced as conservative corporate and political interests move to acquire news outlets that don't always agree with their agendas.
   Last week it was the president speaking out against AT&T's proposed acquisition of Time-Warner unless CNN is dropped from the deal.
   Today, the report is that the Koch brothers are behind a plan for their Meredith Corp. to buy Time Inc., which still owns many magazines after selling off its film and television units.
   One clear implication is that the Koch empire will revamp the Time perspective to more closely reflect conservative views and polices, and away from its traditional independent journalism practices.
   Couple these developments with the president's assertion that the licenses of such outlets as CNN and NBC should be reviewed and perhaps cancelled because of the way they cover the president's comments and activities.
   There's only one problem with that demand.
   CNN and NBC don't have licenses. They are not broadcast entities. Only local stations that use the broadcast spectrum need licenses from the Federal Communications Commission, a practice that goes back to the early days of radio, when the government stepped in to regulate who could operate on what frequency and in which city. This was necessary to eliminate the chaos of competing broadcasters operating on the same radio frequency or too close to another city.
   That's why, for example, New York City television stations broadcast on channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13, while Philadelphia outlets are on 3, 6, 8 and 12.
   Networks, however, don't have licenses. Nor do cable operations, so the government can't take away what doesn't exist, no matter how loud and long the president may complain.
   As for arch-conservative rich folk buying independent and objective news operations and changing their neutral coverage to emphasize corporate and right-wing plans and objectives, that's a danger that America may now be facing.
   Meanwhile, there are still many news outlets that rely on the First Amendment guarantee of free speech and free press to criticize the government when appropriate.
   And, of course, there is the Internet, which enables every citizen to vent opinions and criticism of government when appropriate.