Go To Jail, Go Directly To Jail, Do Not Pass Go and Do Not Collect $200 Once Again

I have been living in the not very quaint city of Beverly Hills for a little over 20 years.
I have joked that it is possible to rob a bank in Beverly Hills, and it will probably not be considered a big deal by the police department. After all, it is only a bank.

If however you were to speed, double-park, or jaywalk in the confines of the city, you will be arrestetried, convicted, fined, and incarcerated in a matter of hours,

I started in the business of selling television programs overseas almost 50 years ago. I worked for a Television Company owned by Columbia Pictures.

I was consistently warned by the "lawyers" about two potential "go to jail" violations of the Law.
The first was as I recall the Paramount consent decree that precluded us from "block booking" our feature films when sold to television stations inside the United States."

The other was not to violate any of the rarely enforced anti-trust laws.

There was an aura of fear surrounding these violations in that if you were apprehended for these violations you could go to prison. Did that admonition keep me on the "straight and narrow?" You can bet that it did.

Sadly, most "Studio" entities continue, as they have almost always done, which is to conduct "business as usual."

I ask everyone do we or do we not live in a great nation?

Sadly that was at least three major wars ago, and a significant number of content owners have regularly broken and continue to break both laws either out of arrogance or ignorance.
First, the results of a little Googling:

The Sherman Act provides: "Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal". The Act also provides: "Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony.
The Act put responsibility upon government attorneys and district courts to pursue and investigate trusts, companies and organizations suspected of violating the Act. The Clayton Act (1914) extended the right to sue under the antitrust laws to "any person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws." Under the Clayton Act, private parties may bring suit in U.S. district court and should they prevail, they may be awarded treble damages and the cost of suit, including reasonable attorney's fees.

It was at a UCLA Law School Symposium about 25 years ago that I publicly challenge the head of NBC's Business Affairs Department as to why his Networks terms and conditions in almost all areas of their business were exactly the same and those offered by CBS and ABC. He of course denied that they were, and at the end of the day he came over to me and said: "Norman. I'm going to get you for asking me that question."

I ask everyone do we or do we not live in a great nation?

Do you ever wonder why the price of gasoline is as high as it is today? Why is the price of gasoline the same regardless of the company providing it? The oil companies control everything from finding the oil, refine it and own or control the distribution via the retail gas stations that sell it to the consumers.
I move on to the next scheduled abuse.
Do you ever wonder why your Cable Company has been able to charge you what they do? Why are the cable charges virtually identical in any community that has single or multiple cable providers?
Do you ever wonder why the commercial content of almost all Television Networks and stations is the same? Why don't the Broadcast networks "pinch" one another's talent? Did you ever notice the similarity of the four over the air networks in their content as well as their business practices?

Do you ever wonder why so many Big Media Corporations regularly violate both the letter and spirit of the law?

Unlike jaywalking in Beverly Hills when you will almost always be caught and punished, the likelihood of being punished by the feds is somewhere in between unlikely to impossible.

It was about five years ago that I called a clear violation of the antitrust laws by Warner Brothers Television to the attention of the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department, and they called me on the phone to tell me that Warner's had most certainly violated the law, and that they were not prepared to do anything about it,

Violate the Anti Trust laws OK.
Jaywalk in Beverly Hills, and off to the Bastille you go.

I ask everyone do we or do we not live in a GREAT nation?

Norman Horowitz
Prison Averse

Comments

[dexxjones]

here in nyc they will kill a small business for having an awning with the wrong lettering on it and haul off a bar manager for having "smoking paraphernalia" (aka empty ashtrays on a shelf in a back office). they will haul you off for beeping your horn or jaywalking. do a drug if you arent a celebrity or child of a famous/rich person? straight to jail.

but

own a business which blatantly defrauds and steals from customers (hello citibank!) promotes and lies about deadly products (hello big tobacco), conspires to thwart public transportation in the interest of big auto and/or big oil (hello general motors!) and you might, MIGHT pay a bit of a fine.

what do we expect in a country where the president lies to get us into war, costs the lives of 4000 troops and cant even get impeached? but dont dare have oral sex and lie about it. oh no.

[castlerider]

You're doing the right thing bringing up these abuses, and it is greatly appreciated. Don't know what the hell may get done about it, but putting things out in the open like you have has to be the best start for making something happen to make this a better community, and a better nation.
When things get done and get corrected, especially in the huge scope you mention like oil companies or the network media, then we can truly look at each other and say " Is this a great country, or what?"

But I'd rather get theses things corrected first, because I already know we live in a great country, we just need to trim the excessive and awful greed and avarice we've had to live with for too long.

Thanks, great post.

[burnt]

You've hit it square on Norman. The sad fact is that we DO have laws to protect the best interests of "We the People". That we so willingly ignore that fact, makes us culpable. We conspire against ourselves. We are complicit in those acts that most harm our society and the future of our children.

Fortunately, we are starting to learn how to apply the strengths that are an inherent part of the new democratic toolset within this communication paradigm... the very one that allows you to post:

"I ask everyone do we or do we not live in a great nation?"

The change has already started... it will pick up momentum shortly. You have positioned yourself perfectly to help guide. It will take many of us in concert, but the rewards will justify the effort. We *will* retake this country.

[GOP4MoreTears]

What a Country ! Imagine that.

[zizyphus]

I hope our next President will make the Feds enforce the anti-trust laws. However, since our federal agencies have become units of organized crime themselves, I am not hopeful that this will happen.

Only the poor are supposed to follow the laws in our country. Worse, new laws are written to ensure the profitable private prisons are kept overflowing with otherwise hardworking Americans.