January 2005 | More Stations, Less Variety
TUNE IN to the fight for media reform
by Barbara K. Iverson
AS THE AIRWAVES shed variety in programming, diverse points of view, and local programming, the commercial media are not crying out for Trust Busters as they did in the Microsoft case. This isn’t a case of “doctor heal thyself,” but of “watchdog, bark at thyself.” And this dog won’t bark.
Free Press (www.freepress.net) a non-profit organization working to involve the public in media policymaking and to craft policies for a more democratic media system, has a “Beginner’s Guide to Media Reform” on its Web site. That’s a good place to start. Common Cause (www.commoncause.org) and Moveon (www.moveon.org) are other groups that are active in the area of media reform. Prometheus radio (www.prometheusradio.org) is the central site for information and action items about Low-Power FM (LPFM).
There isn’t a single solution to radio’s decline. However, there are several areas where your action as an individual or as part of a media advocacy group can make a difference.
Speak Up!
The Federal Communications Commission is scheduling public meetings across the nation where interested people can hear from the commissioners and give their testimony. The schedule is updated frequently on Free Press’ Web site under the heading, “FCC Localism Meetings.”
Legislation
Legislation reversing media ownership consolidation needs to be made into law. Since 2003, the U.S. Senate has passed several media reform bills. The latest is a bill supporting LPFM.
All of the bills dealing with media ownership, consolidation, LPFM, and media diversity were passed in the U.S. Senate in the months between June 2003 and the Appeals Court ruling in June 2004. However, “this legislation [didn’t] go anywhere” because of the Republican leadership in the House, according to U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, a member of the House Subcommittee for Telecommunications and Internet.
The non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics says that Clear Channel gave more than any other entertainment corporation in political contributions.
You can write to your own representative (www.house.gov/writerep) and urge them to bring this legislation to the floor.
The Fairness Doctrine required broadcasters to provide fair and balanced coverage of political issues. Many people still think it is in effect, but it was repealed in 1987.
In 2002, television stations earned more than $1 billion from political advertising—more than they earned from fast food and automotive ads.
A proposal to re-enact the Fairness Doctrine is before the Illinois House this year. If it passes, local groups will be able challenge opinion and editorial broadcasts without charge. This would require broadcasters to provide free airtime for all candidates.
Contact your Illinois state senators and representatives (www.legis.state.il.us) and urge them to pass this bill.
Regulation
Write to the FCC, which set the stage for consolidation of ownership, locally and nationally, with the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
It raised the number of stations a single owner could license across the country and allowed “cross ownership,” (ownership of both broadcast and newspaper outlets in a single market), which had been prohibited in 1934.
Public outcry calling for limits on media concentration is reaching elected officials and the FCC. Nearly 3 million people contacted the FCC calling for media reform in 2003. The issue brought together groups from both the Left and the Right, including the National Rifle Association, Common Cause, MoveOn.org, the Traditional Values Coalition and Mediareform.org.
Official public comment on radio license renewals (which are on an eight-year cycle) is closed. However, television licenses are up for renewal this year. Many of the same corporations that own radio licenses also own television licenses. It’s important to keep pressure on the FCC and many media activists now are turning their attention to television station licenses.
Media Reform Organizations
Last March more than 2,000 people showed up in Madison, Wis. for the first Media Reform Conference, which brought together activists, citizens, educators and policymakers. You can attend the 2005 Media Reform Conference that will meet in St. Louis, Mo., from May 13-15, 2005.
You can locate more than 130 media reform groups through the Free Press Web site under “reform organizations.”
In Chicago, Chicago Media Action is a not-for-profit local media watchdog and information exchange (www.chicagomediaaction.org) which monitors local media practices and sponsors various events including discussion panels.
Technology
Technology can help as well as hurt local radio. LPFM radio spectrum use could put radio into the hands and midsts of many communities by opening up low-cost broadcasting opportunities. LPFM can provide many new channels and access to a variety of programming. With its limited broadcast range, about 1-3 miles, LPFM is ideal for communicating with people in neighborhoods, wards, parish-es, schools and small communities.
Commercial Payment for Use
Making commercial broadcasters pay for use of the public airwaves to support non-commercial, local news operations may be the way to make media more responsive to the public interest. The value of the free airtime that commercial broadcasters use is estimated to be $367 billion, according to Alliance for Better Campaigns, a public interest group chaired by former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. Broadcasters could pay for time use, pay through taxes, or pay through in-kind support of community programming, but such decisions would involve FCC involvement.
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