GE/NBCU TRYING TO STIFLE MEDIA'S COVERAGE OF COMPANY

Nickki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily ^ | June 5, 2009 | Nikki Finke

[Bratch]

It's a very dangerous situation when any huge multinational corporation wages war against media companies. Especially when that huge multinational corporation is General Electric, which itself owns a media company, NBC Universal, and it's using all its power and influence and money to try to harm another media company, Nielsen, and Nielsen Business Media, and its trade publication The Hollywood Reporter. This certainly sounds like a situation which the FCC, and the FTC, and the U.S. Justice Department should be investigating. Just one problem: the controversy stems from GE/NBCU's coverage of President Obama. Here's what happened:

According to my sources inside and outside Nielsen Business Media, The Hollywood Reporter trade publication ran a story dated April 22nd and updated on April 24th covering the "drama" at the most recent GE shareholders meeting in Orlando. THR's West Coast Business Editor Paul Bond wasn't sent to the meeting, but he interviewed about half a dozen people who'd been inside the shareholders meeting and told him what transpired (see below). Bond's THR story focused on the attempts by stockholders and Fox News Channel and other media to find out whether or not GE Chairman/CEO Jeffrey Immelt ordered his news operations to be less critical of President Obama and his policies.

[Bratch]

Bond's story was immediately picked up by The Drudge Report under the headline "GE shareholders outraged over MSNBC bias; Microphone cut off." It became a widely posted news story on conservative and liberal and media websites everywhere. That's when, sources inside and outside Nielsen Business Media tell me, GE Chairman Jeff Immelt ordered a GE company-wide ban on all of THR's parent company: advertising, editorial, the works. After a few days, the ban was reduced to GE's NBC Universal which chief Jeff Zucker carried out against Nielsen Business Media's The Hollywood Reporter and lasted six weeks. My NBC Universal sources believe the ban was lifted yesterday.

My reporting is the first about the ban or what led to it. "People need to know that GE is using its media arm to stifle coverage about its company, and this is coming from Immelt and Zucker," a Nielsen Business Media insider said. I'd attempted multiple times over several weeks to speak with NBCU about this story but the company won't discuss it.

Here's what's also interesting: the current Chairman/CEO of Nielsen is David Calhoun, who prior to joining in 2006 served as Vice Chairman of GE. After rising through GE since 1979, Calhoun had been in contention to run the conglomerate after Jack Welch retired. But Immelt got the top spot instead. As President/CEO of GE Infrastructure, the largest of six GE business units and responsible for 25% of the company's sales, Calhoun surprised Wall Street when he became the first top exec to quit after Immelt took over in 2001.

[Safrguns]

Can someone explain to me why Mark Levin advertises for GE?

I Heard part of his show just yesterday... sounded to me like GE advertises quite heavily there.

I was quite confused as I listened to the commercial orated by Mark.

[chuck_the_tv_out]

Call in & ask. If they won’t let you talk about it, then you know there’s a problem.

But then there’s Rush & Apple. Apple is linked to Algore. Rush beats the crud out of Algore. I suppose as long as it doesn’t effect the issues it’s not a problem, as long as it’s purely commercial.

Maybe GE is financially motivated in having a biased MSNBC. Curry favor with democrats, get billions in slush cash. Democrats are so corrupt, it’s a winning strategy every time. Most people who donate to dems are expecting a return on their “investment”. I don’t know, I’m just theorizing.

[gussiefinknottle]

can someone explain why every night this week, for two hours,
state run nbc has been programming a fawning inside look at the obama white house? oops, i think i answered my own question with the “state run.”

[chuck_the_tv_out]

Biased news reporting should be considered a financial donation, in advertising dollars.

[abb]

ping

[Safrguns]

>>> Call in & ask. If they won’t let you talk about it, then you know there’s a problem.

There are legal reasons why he would not be able to talk about it, regardless of his knowledge or stance on the issue.

I don’t see the same type of link between Rush and Apple and Levin and GE... but then again, I only heard one commercial for GE by Mark.

[Clay Moore]

[Sherman Logan]

Can someone explain to me why Mark Levin advertises for GE?

Because they give him money?

[Landru]

Thanks for the ping, my friend.
Had just finished reading the article at DHD's website, returned here to find your ping.
Moment I began reading the article I thought of you.
Instinctively knew you wouldn't miss it, too. ;^)

How 'bout those comments at the end, eh?
Running about 25 to 1 against NBCU.
Many negatives from zerO supporters themselves who feign disgust with how Immelt's NBCesspool --& all the other quisling mediot mouth organs-- have showered the zerO with nonstop 24/7 fawning coverage.

Their indignation & outrage is to say the least, rather interesting. :^)

[XLSweetTea]

we should be careful about using the term ‘state run’ media. That would only be the case if they were in some getting funding from the feds. And with billions and billions of dollars in TARP funds floating around out there unaccounted for we know this just isn’t the case!

hmmm.... then again...

on another note: one sure sign of state run media is all the evening shows will start running the same stories with the same slant, in the same order, with the same happy smiley face on the reporters and anchors, and . . . uh oh!!!

[bert]

It was noted yesterday tha penske Motors id buying Saturn. Penske is said to be 70% owned by GE.

GE is an American enemy. Immelt must be deposed

Niel cavuto is a GE protector as well.

[pallis]

The CEO of GE telling the Oba’al worshipers at NBC to take it easy on 0 is like asking a choir to sing. He needn’t have bothered. A family tiff within the state controlled media could be solved by merging all the state controlled media and communications branches under one roof, with 0 as boss. Any good Marxist-Nazi knows the state has to have complete control of the media, and that means the media can’t be critical of their ascended master, our very own Hitler.

[Bratch]

Neil Cavuto is a GE protector as well.

Yeah, but Bill O'Reilly is Immelt's arch-enemy.

[balls]

A more accurate classification for NBC is probably state controlled media.

[balls]

Republicans should let everyone know that 0’s ties with Immelt create conflicts of interest and demand he sever any ties to Immelt and GE. Just raising the issue could shake things up a bit at GE/nbc.

[abb]

Another article about Big Newspaper’s collusion to fix prices.

http://insomniactive.com/2009/06/05/the-long-hot-summer-of-paid-content/
The Long, Hot Summer of Paid Content

[Tribune7]

bump

[bert]

The reason is that some people will watch. Their normal programming is so bad they have no audience

[CedarDave]

And another BUMP!!