"So the competition isn't once you got the license, running the station; it's getting the license"
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McChesney’s line turns the romantic story of market competition on its head: the real contest isn’t programming, service, or innovation once a broadcaster is on the air. It’s the knife fight that happens earlier, in the regulatory antechamber, where access is rationed and gatekeepers decide who even gets to play.
The intent is surgical. By relocating “competition” from the marketplace to the licensing process, McChesney exposes broadcasting as a state-mediated industry, not a frictionless free-for-all. A license is effectively a government-granted right to use scarce spectrum; winning it confers durable advantages that can dwarf anything achieved through day-to-day excellence. The subtext is that what looks like consumer choice is often the downstream effect of political bargaining, lobbying muscle, and incumbency protection. If the decisive arena is licensing, then the “best” operators aren’t necessarily the most creative broadcasters; they’re the ones most fluent in regulatory strategy and influence.
Contextually, this fits McChesney’s broader critique of U.S. media policy: consolidation and homogenized content aren’t accidental outcomes of lazy executives; they’re structurally encouraged by rules that make entry difficult and reward scale. The line also carries an implied warning about democracy. When participation hinges on permission rather than performance, power concentrates, dissenting or local voices struggle to clear the first hurdle, and the public-interest rhetoric attached to licensing risks becoming a fig leaf for capture. The cynicism isn’t decorative; it’s diagnostic.
The intent is surgical. By relocating “competition” from the marketplace to the licensing process, McChesney exposes broadcasting as a state-mediated industry, not a frictionless free-for-all. A license is effectively a government-granted right to use scarce spectrum; winning it confers durable advantages that can dwarf anything achieved through day-to-day excellence. The subtext is that what looks like consumer choice is often the downstream effect of political bargaining, lobbying muscle, and incumbency protection. If the decisive arena is licensing, then the “best” operators aren’t necessarily the most creative broadcasters; they’re the ones most fluent in regulatory strategy and influence.
Contextually, this fits McChesney’s broader critique of U.S. media policy: consolidation and homogenized content aren’t accidental outcomes of lazy executives; they’re structurally encouraged by rules that make entry difficult and reward scale. The line also carries an implied warning about democracy. When participation hinges on permission rather than performance, power concentrates, dissenting or local voices struggle to clear the first hurdle, and the public-interest rhetoric attached to licensing risks becoming a fig leaf for capture. The cynicism isn’t decorative; it’s diagnostic.
Quote Details
| Topic | Business |
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