Media giants' proposal could punish cash strapped families

The Associated Press reported today that 4 major television networks are considering ending over-the-air television broadcasting. Fox network's Rupert Murdoch stated that the television broadcasting has become so expensive that networks can no longer rely simply on ad revenues for survival, "good programming is expensive." Cable giant Comcast Corp's acquisition of NBC may very well be the first step in that direction, thus ending nearly 60 years of free over-the-air broadcasting. Who will be most affected by this change?

The last couple of years have been more financially devastating than most people can recall. As a result, the loss of jobs and income have forced many families to cut living expenses dramatically. For most families, one of the first expenses to be cut is entertainment. Before the recession, my family subscribed to a premium, high definition cable television service that included a DVR, we were also fortunate to have high speed internet service as well. On average, these two services cost us between $100.00 and $150.00 per month. Since then, we have been forced to cancel not only our cable television service completely, but also the high speed internet service as well. Believe me, this transition was very difficult for us. Even before the recession, many forms of entertainment have become so cost-prohibitive that television had become our primary source of entertainment. At this point, our only source of entertainment comes from the small hand full of television stations we are able to receive from our roof-mounted antenna. With this new proposal, we stand to lose that as well.

The word around the water cooler suggests this is simply an attempt to recover the cost of the analog to digital transition that took place during the middle to 2009. I'd say there is probably some truth to that claim, but I feel there is much more to it than that. It's all about profit. But, at what point does it turn from a simple healthy P&L to that of just blatant greed? According to BIAfn Media Access Pro, from 1995 to 2002, television stations saw an increase in profits of nearly 3%. It also states that the average television station saw profits between 20 and 25 million dollars each year, that includes the cost of the analog to digital transition. Not just a healthy P&N any way you slice it.

I feel it is situations like this that warrant the same kind of investigation leveled against the automotive and banking industry that took place during the first stages of the economic bailout. Banks and the auto industry were logical targets of an investigation largely due to amount of revenue that changes hands each year, but I don't think it should end there, I think what our economy needs is a revolution. We need to stop and question executive compensation in every level of business. Am I suggesting that hard work shouldn't be rewarded? Absolutely not! However, as long as we still have millions of families living in fear that they could lose their homes to foreclosure, paying through the nose for inadequate health care, and living in fear of losing their jobs to cheaper labor overseas, then I feel everyone should step forward and do the right thing. Sacrifices shouldn't only be made by the working class.

Is there an easy solution? No, there are no easy answers, but until every working, tax-paying American takes a good hard look at their own role in this economic maelstrom, then the division that exists between the middle and low income versus the rich, is going to continue to grow. It's alarming when you consider that 97% of the income generated revenue will be earned by less than 3% of the workforce.