Free Speech for Sale Essay - 962 Words

Under the constitution, every American has the right of free speech, but does free speech matter if no one can hear it? â€Å"Free Speech for sale† reveals the painful truth that free speech, and the certainty that one will be heard, is guaranteed only to those who can afford it. And corporations can afford it. Whether through purchasing massive amounts of advertising for political purposes, or by owning the companies that bring people the news, powerful corporations are able to drown out the voices that disagree with them - and its all perfectly legal. To me, this situation calls into question how true our democracy really is. Are we as the voters receiving the thorough information we need to make decisions? Or are we being fed censored or†¦show more content†¦The news organizations they own barely bothered to report on this pending legislation even as the corporate owners (NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox) were lobbying Congress hard for what amounted to a corporate giveaway e stimated to be worth $70 billion. This definitely deals with special interests, and what a corporation, or in this case corporations, will do to protect them. The act was passed because of the corporations giving money to members of Congress. Sure it may seem a bit manipulative, but it is totally legal under the constitution. Media corporations have been merging into fewer (and larger) entities which are better able to control the flow of information to the public. Because of their size and power, they can prevent unfavorable coverage of their activities in the media outlets they own. In 1983, 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the U.S. In 1992, fewer than two dozen of these corporations owned and operated 90% of the mass media; controlling almost all of Americas newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, books, records, movies, videos, wire services and photo agencies. Now only 5 huge corporations - Time Warner, Disney, Murdochs News Corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany, and Viacom (formerly CBS) - now control most of the media industry in the U.S. General Electrics NBC is a close sixth. Democracy cant exist without an informed public. We rely on unbiased news from independentShow MoreRelatedPolicy Proposal: Restriction to Freedom of Speech Clause965 Words   |  4 Pag esPolicy Proposal Restriction to Freedom of Speech Clause The Restriction to Freedom of Speech Clause would add the following to exceptions that are allowed to speech and expression under the First Amendment (see boldface text). 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