The Federal Communications Commission’s Chief Diversity Officer,
Mark Lloyd, wants government to socialize the media. In his 2006
book Prologue to a Farce, Lloyd calls for a far-reaching
government program that would straitjacket private media
companies and funnel tens of billions of dollars into a tax-
supported “public” media--an agenda shared by many of his
associates. A massive nonprofit media run by the state would
better inform Americans, Lloyd claims, although, feeling
generous, he allows that “there should be a place for private
communications services in a republic.” You might think this
radical call for government control of the media is at odds with
the First Amendment and the ideals of its authors. Not according
to Lloyd and his fellow travelers, who portray their vision of a
government-funded press as a continuation of the American
tradition. The Founders, they say, weren’t committed to
protecting a profit-seeking press from government control.
Instead, their primary concern was making sure the pr