Philly too dominated by Comcast? NYTimes op-ed thinks so

Jared Shelly^[1]

Digital Producer- Philadelphia Business Journal

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.^[2]  |  Twitter^[3]  |  LinkedIn^[4]

Comcast^[5] has a stranglehold on Philadelphia and its politicians, Daniel Denvir^[6], senior staff writer at Philadelphia City Paper writes in a  new op-ed^[7] for the New York Times^[8].

He says that in Philadelphia, "Welcome to Comcast Country" is more than just a company motto — it represents a political machine that is not only building its second skyscraper but has executives that have supported President Barack Obama^[9] and countless other politicians.

Here are a few highlights:

Here, politicians heap unalloyed praise on Comcast’s chairman and chief executive, Brian L. Roberts, and his father, the company’s founder, Ralph J. Roberts. ... Starting in Philadelphia, Comcast built a hometown political machine and turned it into a national juggernaut. In 2013, the company spent^[10]$18.8 million on federal lobbying, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That’s more than all but six other corporations. The company is also a major donor, making nearly $5.5 million in federal political contributions during the 2012 cycle. Recipients of Comcast’s largess include President Obama and Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation in Washington, a veritable Comcast caucus. In 2011, Pennsylvania’s two senators, Patrick J. Toomey^[11], a Republican, and Robert P. Casey^[12] Jr., a Democrat, scolded the Federal Communications Commission for taking too long to vote on Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal: “The American people,” they wrote^[13], “have waited for more than a year for the benefits of this transaction to come to fruition.” The two have now joined hands across the aisle to back the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger. 

Jared Shelly is the digital producer of the Philadelphia Business Journal.

References

1. ^{^} Jared Shelly (feeds.bizjournals.com)
2. ^{^} This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (feeds.bizjournals.com)
3. ^{^} Twitter (twitter.com)
4. ^{^} LinkedIn (feeds.bizjournals.com)
5. ^{^} Comcast (www.bizjournals.com)
6. ^{^} Daniel Denvir (feeds.bizjournals.com)
7. ^{^} new op-ed (www.nytimes.com)
8. ^{^} New York Times (www.bizjournals.com)
9. ^{^} Barack Obama (feeds.bizjournals.com)
10. ^{^} spent (www.opensecrets.org)
11. ^{^} Patrick J. Toomey (feeds.bizjournals.com)
12. ^{^} Robert P. Casey (feeds.bizjournals.com)
13. ^{^} they wrote (articles.philly.com)