DRUDGE REPORT 2001®
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***FLASHBACK***
JULY 27, 2000 22:09 UTC
FLASHBACK: TIMEWARNER HEAD LEVIN WARNS OF 'AMERICAN CULTURAL IMPERIALISM'; SEES
CORPORATIONS TAKING 'GOVERNMENT ROLES'
AOL chief executive Steve Case
and TIME WARNER chief executive Gerald Levin testified Thursday before
a complete panel at the Federal Communications Commission.
But candid comments made by Levin earlier this year during a media
roundtable have some lawmakers in Congress concerned that something is
foul with the latest greatest media marriage.
Levin recently warned: In the post-Cold War era there is only "American
cultural imperialism."
"There's no countervailing force, that's a significant problem,"
declared the man who will become the most powerful media executive in
history if the AOL/TIME WARNER merger is approved by federal regulators.
Levin sees a future where major media corporations take on
responsibilities currently administered by governments.
"We're going to need to have these corporations redefined as
instruments of public service because they have the resources, they
have the reach, they have the skill base, and maybe there's a new
generation coming up that wants to achieve meaning in that context and
have an impact, and that may be a more efficient way to deal with
society's problems than governments," predicted Levin.
A summary of Levin�s past comments were circulated behind committee
doors this week, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, including Levin�s
belief that an "old-fashioned regulatory system" has to give way to a
new "global concern."
"It does appear that Mr. Levin has greater designs than simply running
an entertainment conglomerate," said one Republican lawmaker who would
like to question Levin on his feelings about "American cultural
imperialism."
At the TIMEWARNER Global Forum gathering in Shanghai last year, Levin
introduced Communist China�s President Jiang Zemin, calling him "my
good friend."
Levin presented him with a bust of Abraham Lincoln.
Levin, who refused to meet with human rights representatives during the
trip, told vaunted visitors that Jiang can reel off the Gettysburg
address from memory.
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