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US election: Victory to the media. Democracy the loser

Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now, in a piece on truthdig pronounces the media the victors in the just concluded mid-term Congressional elections in the US - and democracy the loser.

"As the 2010 elections come to a close, the biggest winner of all remains undeclared: the broadcasters. The biggest loser: democracy. These were the most expensive midterm elections in U.S. history, costing close to $4 billion, $3 billion of which went to advertising. What if ad time were free? We hear no debate about this, because the media corporations are making such a killing by selling campaign ads. Yet the broadcasters are using public airwaves."

If proof was needed that spending big on an election campaign might work, reflect on the woman, Meg Whitman, who ran for the governorship of Californian. A former CEO of ebay, she spent US$160 million on her campaign - but lost nevertheless.

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