Why State Scrutiny Exists

The Information War
Is Real.

Corporate media is consolidating. Billionaires are buying up what's left. State Scrutiny exists because you deserve unfiltered access to what your government is actually doing — before it affects your life.

6
corporations control 90% of U.S. media
57%
of newsroom jobs lost since 2008
15
billionaires own the largest news outlets
2,500+
local newspapers closed in the last 15 years
Media Consolidation

From 50 Companies
to 6.

In 1983, 50 companies controlled the majority of U.S. media. Today it is 6. Not through market forces alone — through legislation, deregulation, and deliberate policy choices that rewrote the rules of who can own what and how many.

1983
50
companies controlled the majority of U.S. media
1992
23
companies — consolidation accelerates post-cable
2000
10
companies — internet era mergers reshape ownership
2012
6
companies — and it has stayed there
Who Owns What

The Six Companies
That Shape What You Know.

News CorpRupert Murdoch
Fox News
Wall Street Journal
New York Post
HarperCollins
Warner Bros. Discovery
CNN
HBO
TNT / TBS
DC Comics
Comcast / NBCUniversal
MSNBC
NBC News
CNBC
Telemundo
Disney
ABC News
ESPN
Hulu
National Geographic
Paramount Global
CBS News
MTV / BET
Comedy Central
Nickelodeon
Billionaire-OwnedBezos / Bloomberg
Washington Post (Bezos)
Bloomberg (Bloomberg)
Dozens of local TV stations
How We Got Here

The Legislative History
of Media Consolidation.

1949
Fairness Doctrine
The FCC requires broadcast license holders to present controversial public issues in a balanced way. The foundation of public-interest media obligation. For nearly four decades it keeps the airwaves from becoming purely partisan instruments.
1987
Fairness Doctrine Abolished
The Reagan-era FCC eliminates the Fairness Doctrine. The stated reasoning: the marketplace of ideas will self-correct. One-sided political broadcasting becomes legally permissible. Within five years, AM talk radio becomes a partisan monoculture.
1996
Telecommunications Act of 1996
Signed by Clinton. Removes caps on radio station ownership, allowing a single company to own hundreds of stations in multiple markets. The consolidation era formally begins. Clear Channel goes from 40 stations to 1,200 within a decade.
2003
FCC Further Loosens Ownership Rules
The Powell-era FCC allows newspaper-television cross-ownership in the same market. Courts block portions of the rule, but the damage to local news competition is already being done as newsrooms consolidate operations.
2012
Smith-Mundt Modernization Act
Allows U.S. government propaganda — previously banned from domestic broadcast under the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act — to be legally distributed to American audiences. A wall that stood for 64 years, removed with almost no public debate.
2017–2023
Accelerating Consolidation
AT&T acquires Time Warner (CNN, HBO). Disney swallows Fox's entertainment assets. Hundreds of local newspapers are sold to private equity firms that cut newsrooms to the bone. 2,500+ local papers close. Local investigative journalism effectively ends in most mid-size markets.
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”
Thomas Jefferson, 1787
“Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.”
A.J. Liebling — The New Yorker, 1960
What We Are

State Scrutiny Is Different.
Here Is Why.

🚫
Advertisers Don't Drive Coverage
We don't soften coverage, bury stories, or frame issues to keep sponsors comfortable. Advertising may support the platform — it does not touch editorial. That line does not move.
⚖️
Nonpartisan
We track what government does — regardless of which party is in power. Data, primary documents, and documented facts. Not opinion. Not framing. Not narrative.
🏛️
Public Data Only
Every bill, every vote, every executive order comes from official government sources. If we cite it, you can verify it. Every claim links to primary documentation.
🗺️
All 50 States
Most national media ignores state legislatures. We don't. That is where the laws affecting your daily life are made — and where coordinated template legislation spreads before anyone notices.
📖
Plain Language
We translate legal and legislative language into plain English. You should not need a law degree to understand the laws that govern your life, your body, and your rights.
🔓
Free to Read
Core tracking and rights information is always free. The founders believed an informed public is essential to democracy. We agree. Information should not be paywalled.
What this is for

Built for people who refuse
to look away.

State Scrutiny is not a news site. It is not a political organization. It does not have an agenda beyond one: that people who want to understand what is happening to their rights should be able to, without a law degree, without a subscription, and without having to sort through opinion to find the facts.

The most effective tool against the erosion of rights is a public that understands exactly what is being eroded, why it matters, and what can still be done. That is what this is.

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State Scrutiny  ·  statescrutiny.com  ·  April 2026