This has probably been discussed many times before, but I haven't seen much posted about it in the last several years. Doesn't mean it hasn't been, just that I haven't seen much. Maybe not everyone is fully aware of past legislation that setup the MSM as we know it today. So I figure a little history wouldn't hurt.

Created in 1995. Signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996.

Here's what Bill Clinton had to say about it:

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/268459-bill-clintons-telecom-law-twenty-years-later

Supporters of the law said it would create more competition in the telecommunications industry that, at the time, was only beginning to grapple with the transformative power of the Internet.

“It promotes competition as the key to opening new markets and new opportunities,” Clinton said at the bill signing. “It will help connect every classroom in America to the information superhighway by the end of the decade. It will protect consumers by regulating the remaining monopolies for a time and by providing a roadmap for deregulation in the future.”

The Law Link (for reference):

https://www.congress.gov/104/plaws/publ104/PLAW-104publ104.pdf

FCC Link (for reference):

https://www.fcc.gov/general/telecommunications-act-1996

NewAmerican article Link:

https://thenewamerican.com/the-breakup-of-ma-bell/

Writing in The New Telecommunications Industry, authors Leonard Hyman, Richard Toole, and Rosemary Avellis concluded that “competition helped to expand the market, bring down costs, and lower prices to consumers.” Because of the negative impact upon AT&T by its competitors, the president of AT&T, Theodore Newton Vail, changed the focus of the company from competition to consolidation. As noted by Thierer, “Vail’s most important goals upon taking over AT&T were the elimination of competitors, the befriending of policymakers and regulators, and the expansion of telephone service to the general public.”

Wiki Link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996

A key take-away:

In the 2003 edition of his book, A People's History of the United States, Howard Zinn wrote about alternative media, community newspapers and the creation of street newspapers trying the break the corporate control of information. On that topic, he talked about the Telecommunications Act of 1996:

the Telecommunications Act of 1996...enabled the handful of corporations dominating the airwaves to expand their power further. Mergers enabled tighter control of information...The Latin American writer Eduardo Galeano commented..."Never have so many been held incommunicado by so few."[35]

1A Encyclopedia Link:

https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1095/telecommunications-act-of-1996

Another consequence of the Telecommunications Act was a flurry of media mergers. The act significantly reduced regulations on media concentration and cross-ownership of media outlets. This deregulation led to less competition and allowed such companies as AOL/Time-Warner and Viacom to purchase multiple media outlets in local markets.