Clear Channel

The old adage that goes "never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel" could probably be updated to "never pick a fight with Rupert Murdoch." And Barack Obama might have violated that one.

On April 21, Obama held what was supposed to be a conversation about economic policy with concerned Pennsylvania voters, seated around him on benches under a low hanging tree blooming with yellow flowers.

The first question was off message. It was about media consolidation, by Murdoch and others. "What can be done to ensure that our press is really giving a free, all-point-of-view [perspective] to the population," asked the questioner.

Obama called it a good question and then, referring to the television cameras, national and local media reporters ringing his quaint afternoon conversation, said, "I think the press would argue that there are a multiplicity of voices out there, but you're absolutely right that there has been a lot of media consolidation and that's happened partly because it's so expensive to set up big TV networks."  read more »