how best to nationalise the media

[SocialismIsCentrist]

media controls the thoughts, states are a target for corruption and subversion - so a state media which sets the agenda for the masses makes state controlled media a danger even to democracies.

with a free press the people are potentially reminded of what the government is doing wrong. but then you get a situation where media barrons get pally with the government and support a false cause to great effect due to the power of mass media.


In britain I think there is one of the better balances in the world. The BBC, independent of the state, but not funded through capitalism counterbalances the other media outlets.

--

the approach i would like to see would be to apply demarchic principles to mass media.

a program of Nationalisation, either through compulsory purchase or decree, followed by random distribution of stewardship shares (that cannot be sold) to ordinary members of the public.

a stewardship share is where you get a share - and share of the profit - for a temporary period of time.

the idea of such a system would be to ensure that the media is answerable ultimately to a cross section of the public - with the cycling randomness factor to suppress corruptive influences.

such a radical policy would give us potentially a media which is entirely independent of both state and of ultra-capitalist control.

[Colombia]

I don't think we have such a thing as a stewardship share in the USA. Can you explain a bit m ore about it?

[SocialismIsCentrist]

i've not heared of the idea before either.

the idea is that mass media belongs to all, but to bestow management of that collective property on who? I would say upon random citizens untainted by links to government or corporatism. the tempary nature - say be a steward of some shares for say 5 years and enjoy 5 years of dividends, and the rights to make shareholder motions and such - before the government hand them on to others in the lottery.

[Amusing Scrotum]

Personally I think it would be far better for people to have a vote on who becomes Director General of the BBC, than for them to have "stewardship shares" because ultimately monetary incentives will taint the process.

[bolshevik butcher]

Why not just put it under workers control? Let the journalists and tv crews decide what to report upon and how they go about doing it.

[More Fire for the People]

The best method would be to establish an All-Journalists Congress that runs a national newspaper, news channel, and radio station. The funds and materials allocated to the Congress would be determined by a five-year plan formulated at a National Congress of Workers.

[councilcommie]

with a nationalised media, there would have to be an independant body set up to rigorously watch what the government is up to within it, as a national media can still be a free media

[SocialismIsCentrist]

Originally posted by [email protected] 22 2005, 12:05 AM
with a nationalised media, there would have to be an independant body set up to rigorously watch what the government is up to within it, as a national media can still be a free media
which is why I sort of suggest stewardship shares amongst random selected members of the public. It is thought for example, random jury lottery works against the threat of large scale corruption in the justice system.

likewise in other parts of society. The watchdog, can be shareholders - who rather than buying that influence, are bestowed it through demarchic selection.

the funding is then obtained through capitalist means, were ordinary citizens are the watchdog.


so maybe we can consider nationalising other important vital areas of the economy in this way, were ordinary citizens are the shareholders - what should be targetted are monopolies like energy, transport and perhaps telecomms. with that sort of policy you have a sort of collective ownership and management of the most important sectors of the economy in the hands of the citizens quite directly, demarchic terms working against corruption and CEO's of these large scale orgs answerable very directly to the people.