Please sign and pass on to everyone:

http://www.petitiononline.com/satmerge/petition.html

The merger is dead. The hearings are only due process. SatRad did not pay off enough politicians via lobbyists. Terrestrial radio invested heavily and they are going to win. I will bet anyone any amount they want.

The merger is dead. The hearings are only due process. SatRad did not pay off enough politicians via lobbyists. Terrestrial radio invested heavily and they are going to win. I will bet anyone any amount they want.

I am starting to think that this is a lost cause as well. Where I believe the satellite companies messed up is when Mel was asked if Sirius and XM could survive without the merger and he said "yes." I think they would have stood a much better chance if they filed (I forget the exact name for it) as distressed companies and had argued that a "merger" was inevitable because of both companies' weak balance sheet - that is, one will end up either buying the other or alone anyway. I think this was the strongest position to take, even if it meant swallowing a bit of pride.

As for that letter, I agree with the sentiment wholeheartedly but I disagree with the language. The recipients are far less likely to take it seriously (or even read it all the way through) when they are hit with "cronies" in the first paragraph. Usually they won't take a letter seriously that takes personal shots like that.
Stick to the facts and be respectful, no matter how much the NAB does indeed suck.

I'm hijacking the thread to post an article found in the New Yorker magazine that promotes the merger, on the grounds that Mel K was talking about (sat radio competes with many products, including the iPod, etc.) and that Howard was talking about (if the NAB is against it, it must be good for the people)...

link (http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/03/19/070319ta_talk_surowiecki)
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/03/19/070319ta_talk_surowiecki

-Simon

I'm hijacking the thread to post an article found in the New Yorker magazine that promotes the merger, on the grounds that Mel K was talking about (sat radio competes with many products, including the iPod, etc.) and that Howard was talking about (if the NAB is against it, it must be good for the people)...

link (http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/03/19/070319ta_talk_surowiecki)
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2007/03/19/070319ta_talk_surowiecki

-Simon


Great article! Thanks for the link.

yep