Patt Morrison for Friday, 1/29/10

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, January 29, 2010

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:30

OPEN

 

 

1:30 - 1:58:30

Live Nation and Ticketmaster are now in concert

The two behemoths in the $4.4 billion worldwide concert industry are merging. Now that they control every aspect of the live music business, it will make it nearly impossible for independent promoters to compete, immediately killing off competition with the simple approval from the Department of Justice. Live Nation/Ticketmaster is publicly saying that this will be a huge win for fans, while critics are saying that this will leave fans with no other alternatives. We find out what this means for promoters, fans, and musicians. Will it be a great win for fans? Or will this be the day the music died. 

 

Guest:

Congressman Bill Pascrell, D – NJ 8^th District

HE CALLS US:  LINE 10

• Pascrell, who testified against the merger before the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee last year.
• Pascrell on the merger:  I am currently reviewing the Justice Department’s decision, but clearly I am disappointed. One has to wonder what it was that U.S. antitrust authorities saw as a greater priority than American consumers and the free market.
• “The American people need to be told how DOJ decided that this deal, even with the concessions made, passes muster with our nation’s anti-trust laws.”
• "Moving forward, as these two companies with a history of anti-consumer behavior are poised to join together into an entertainment behemoth, I will be keeping a close eye on how the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission enforce any conditions they impose on this new entity to ensure consumers are protected.”

 

Congressman Brad Sherman, D – CA 27^th District

HE CALLS US – LINE 9

• Sherman on the merger: “I have had conversations about this issue - with artists, the companies involved, public interest organizations, and constituents.   We also had hearings on the proposed merger in the House Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy. 
• From these, my understanding is that the music industry is currently in abysmal shape and that consumers would best be served by the proposed agreement.  The Department of Justice, Ticketmaster and Live Nation put a great deal of time, thought, and energy into arriving at this agreement in order to promote a competitive ticketing industry for the benefit of fans. 
• My understanding from executives of Ticketmaster and Live Nation is that they seek to give consumers more choices.

 

Steve Knopper, Rolling Stone contributing editor, author of "Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age."

CALL HIM:

 

 

2:06 – 2:30

Is it right? – The “right to die” debate

Montana’s become the third state where physician assisted suicide is legal – is the precedent in big sky country a clue as to changing attitudes in the U.S.? Did they legalize euthanasia or merely not find any law or public policy saying that it was illegal? We discuss the fight for and against the “right to die”.

 

Guests:

UNCONFIRMED

Derek Humphry, Founder of the Hemlock Society

 

UNCONFIRMED

Mark Siegler, Lindy Bergman Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago

 

 

2:30 – 2:58:30

Global warming heats up the SEC

This week, by a margin divided along party lines, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to encourage companies to disclose the effects of climate change on their business. Hold up—so that means global warming is real?? Some Republican commissioners equate the vote with a kind of political endorsement of an environmentalist agenda, but social investment groups say investors have a right to know whether changing sea levels might increase the risk of claims in some areas, or if certain goods produce significantly higher greenhouse gases. Is this a mandate that gives real incentive to green investing, and if so, how much money with flow?

 

Guests:

SEC commissioner, TBA

 

Representative from Ceres, a social investment group that’s been urging the SEC to make this vote for several years

 

 

 

Jonathan Serviss

Producer, Patt Morrison Program

Southern California Public Radio

NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles

89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3-KPCV-FM

626.585.7821, office

415.497.2131, mobile

jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org

www.scpr.org