$1.5 billion investment in production in the state, a commitment not to sell either studio lot, and potential penalties if Paramount fails to honor a pledge to produce 30 movies a year after the merger.
Here in Canada, the Rogers-Shaw telecom merger (biggest in Canadian history) was allowed to pass a few years ago with a host of job and competition guarantees... None of them appear to have been...
Here in Canada, the Rogers-Shaw telecom merger (biggest in Canadian history) was allowed to pass a few years ago with a host of job and competition guarantees... None of them appear to have been maintained and I have heard 0 enforcement action as a result. So I wouldn't be too optimistic.
I'm still mad about that. I had a pushy Rogers rep who came to my door use the sales pitch: you may not like Rogers, but Telus is no better. Not wrong, but fucking asinine nonetheless. Do you know...
I'm still mad about that. I had a pushy Rogers rep who came to my door use the sales pitch: you may not like Rogers, but Telus is no better.
Not wrong, but fucking asinine nonetheless. Do you know who you work for?
Yeeeaaahhhh our telecom oligarchy is so insultingly smug. They don't even pretend to care about the law or rules. I won a billing dispute with Telus through the CCTS complaint system and six...
Yeeeaaahhhh our telecom oligarchy is so insultingly smug. They don't even pretend to care about the law or rules. I won a billing dispute with Telus through the CCTS complaint system and six months later they're still refusing to fully honour the decision.
I'm embarrassed to say that the thing that's stopping me from going with Distributel or a smaller internet provider is that I need to buy the modem outright. I should just go ahead and do it. I...
I'm embarrassed to say that the thing that's stopping me from going with Distributel or a smaller internet provider is that I need to buy the modem outright.
I should just go ahead and do it.
I use Graphene now forfuckssakes - buying a router is far easier than running a mobile OS that hates your most used apps lol
The US isn't really much better anymore. The telcos keep buying eachother with very little consequence. I'm literally right between two of the most densely populated counties in California and yet...
The US isn't really much better anymore. The telcos keep buying eachother with very little consequence. I'm literally right between two of the most densely populated counties in California and yet there is only a single terrestrial (read: non-wireless) internet provider who can service my address. According to Claude, at least, high speed internet seems to be notably cheaper in Canada than in the US!
It's too soon to know for sure, but history suggests it probably won't be very effective. "David Ellison Will Get Control of CNN After All." The Atlantic.
It's too soon to know for sure, but history suggests it probably won't be very effective.
So although another major national news outlet will be under the control of a major Trump ally, at least there’ll be “a board of journalists to ensure the editorial independence”! (That this is happening while the president Ellison supports is banning all CNN reporters from the White House adds a tragicomic veneer to the story.)
If this particular move sounds familiar, that’s because such “boards” have been a part of other news-company acquisitions that have raised similar concerns about antitrust or editorial control. These boards’ effectiveness has been, to be generous, extremely limited. Two of the most prominent examples—both involving Rupert Murdoch—offer little reason for optimism.
[...]
In practice, this did not work out. As the legendary editor Harold Evans put it in his 1983 book, Good Times, Bad Times:
[Murdoch had] guaranteed that the editors would have control of the political policy of their newspapers; that they would have freedom within fixed annual budgets; that the editors would not be subject to instruction from either the proprietor or management on the selection and balance of news and opinion; that instructions to journalists would be given only by their editor; and that any future sale of the titles would require the agreement of a majority of the independent national directors. In my year as editor of The Times, Murdoch broke all these guarantees. He put his point of view very simply to the home editor of The Times, Fred Emery, when he summoned him from holiday on 4 March to his office shortly before asking for my resignation: ‘I give instructions to my editors all round the world, why shouldn’t I in London?’
Right, so a gigantic merger is allowed to go through, creating a serious monopoly issue, and this settlement is supposed to prevent that by... what, introducing a bunch of temporary restrictions?...
Right, so a gigantic merger is allowed to go through, creating a serious monopoly issue, and this settlement is supposed to prevent that by... what, introducing a bunch of temporary restrictions?
Even if I had faith that these terms would be enforced, which I don't, most of the terms lapse. It's fixing almost nothing in favor of just kicking the problems down the road!
Ellison thanked [...] California Governor Gavin Newsom for his support throughout the process.
If that's even remotely true, I'll be sure to remember that for the next couple years.
What's even the point of regulatory bodies if they don't have more power than the organizations they're supposed to be regulating? It's crazy that one private citizen can just threaten the biggest...
What's even the point of regulatory bodies if they don't have more power than the organizations they're supposed to be regulating? It's crazy that one private citizen can just threaten the biggest state government in the US into doing his bidding.
That’s just how democracies go. A lot of voting is “it’s the economy, stupid”, and so the threat of losing jobs causes real voter outrage, and that has real political effects. It’s by design and...
That’s just how democracies go. A lot of voting is “it’s the economy, stupid”, and so the threat of losing jobs causes real voter outrage, and that has real political effects. It’s by design and correct that elected officials should worry about their voter’s reactions, too bad voters are… rather simple in their voting tendencies.
See also: all the stupid ballot proposals companies get through in California. There’s not even anyone to bribe, this is direct democracy in action baby. Turns out it’s easy to bribe voters directly en mass.
They've been shedding jobs for years now. That excuse is growing thin. If they are going to leave they should just do it. I don't think Hollywood is going to struggle to fill its market back up...
the threat of losing jobs causes real voter outrage, and that has real political effects.
They've been shedding jobs for years now. That excuse is growing thin. If they are going to leave they should just do it. I don't think Hollywood is going to struggle to fill its market back up given the century+ of modern media culture it pioneered itself.
I am so fucking pissed off that we have two fucking voter initiatives on the ballot this years specifically put in place just to invalidate the billionaire tax - the one that's actually a...
I am so fucking pissed off that we have two fucking voter initiatives on the ballot this years specifically put in place just to invalidate the billionaire tax - the one that's actually a grassroots effort. And they're going to have much longer effects that will hobble the California legislature, potentially forever.
"Eat the rich" might actually be too kind of a sentiment at this point. They are poisonously evil.
America in a nutshell. Seems like Boomers and older gen X are just trying to ride out the rest of their lives and don't care if the world ignites as long as they are dead and lived a full life....
It's fixing almost nothing in favor of just kicking the problems down the road!
America in a nutshell. Seems like Boomers and older gen X are just trying to ride out the rest of their lives and don't care if the world ignites as long as they are dead and lived a full life.
newsom in this case just needs 2-3 more years to finish up his Govenorship and try to run for President. No one's looking to the long term.
Not wrong, but if justice isn't served or enforced, we'll have the same thing happen as the small guys of today turn into the big, overreaching guys of tomorrow.
Not wrong, but if justice isn't served or enforced, we'll have the same thing happen as the small guys of today turn into the big, overreaching guys of tomorrow.
That's it?
This seems significant, although who knows if Paramount will follow that stipulation in good faith
Here in Canada, the Rogers-Shaw telecom merger (biggest in Canadian history) was allowed to pass a few years ago with a host of job and competition guarantees... None of them appear to have been maintained and I have heard 0 enforcement action as a result. So I wouldn't be too optimistic.
I'm still mad about that. I had a pushy Rogers rep who came to my door use the sales pitch: you may not like Rogers, but Telus is no better.
Not wrong, but fucking asinine nonetheless. Do you know who you work for?
Yeeeaaahhhh our telecom oligarchy is so insultingly smug. They don't even pretend to care about the law or rules. I won a billing dispute with Telus through the CCTS complaint system and six months later they're still refusing to fully honour the decision.
I'm embarrassed to say that the thing that's stopping me from going with Distributel or a smaller internet provider is that I need to buy the modem outright.
I should just go ahead and do it.
I use Graphene now forfuckssakes - buying a router is far easier than running a mobile OS that hates your most used apps lol
The US isn't really much better anymore. The telcos keep buying eachother with very little consequence. I'm literally right between two of the most densely populated counties in California and yet there is only a single terrestrial (read: non-wireless) internet provider who can service my address. According to Claude, at least, high speed internet seems to be notably cheaper in Canada than in the US!
It's too soon to know for sure, but history suggests it probably won't be very effective.
Right, so a gigantic merger is allowed to go through, creating a serious monopoly issue, and this settlement is supposed to prevent that by... what, introducing a bunch of temporary restrictions?
Even if I had faith that these terms would be enforced, which I don't, most of the terms lapse. It's fixing almost nothing in favor of just kicking the problems down the road!
If that's even remotely true, I'll be sure to remember that for the next couple years.
Newsom had been urging the AG to settle. Partly cause of Ellison’s threats to leave California.
What's even the point of regulatory bodies if they don't have more power than the organizations they're supposed to be regulating? It's crazy that one private citizen can just threaten the biggest state government in the US into doing his bidding.
That’s just how democracies go. A lot of voting is “it’s the economy, stupid”, and so the threat of losing jobs causes real voter outrage, and that has real political effects. It’s by design and correct that elected officials should worry about their voter’s reactions, too bad voters are… rather simple in their voting tendencies.
See also: all the stupid ballot proposals companies get through in California. There’s not even anyone to bribe, this is direct democracy in action baby. Turns out it’s easy to bribe voters directly en mass.
They've been shedding jobs for years now. That excuse is growing thin. If they are going to leave they should just do it. I don't think Hollywood is going to struggle to fill its market back up given the century+ of modern media culture it pioneered itself.
I am so fucking pissed off that we have two fucking voter initiatives on the ballot this years specifically put in place just to invalidate the billionaire tax - the one that's actually a grassroots effort. And they're going to have much longer effects that will hobble the California legislature, potentially forever.
"Eat the rich" might actually be too kind of a sentiment at this point. They are poisonously evil.
America in a nutshell. Seems like Boomers and older gen X are just trying to ride out the rest of their lives and don't care if the world ignites as long as they are dead and lived a full life.
newsom in this case just needs 2-3 more years to finish up his Govenorship and try to run for President. No one's looking to the long term.
What happened to Keith Ellison, Letitia James, and the other state AGs who were vowing to oppose this settlement not even 24 hours ago?
Everyone has a price. (At least that's my pessimistic assumption.)
Traditional media will simply continue to eat itself alive. We have so many other options available.
Not wrong, but if justice isn't served or enforced, we'll have the same thing happen as the small guys of today turn into the big, overreaching guys of tomorrow.