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Read FCC Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein's post-hearing op-ed from the San Francisco Chronicle: "A new opportunity to craft media ownership rules"
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A crowd of 350 packed into the "Public Hearing on the Future of Media" on Oct. 27, voicing concerns about greater media consolidation to Federal Communications Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.
"This is the most important meeting taking place here or anywhere else in the great State of California today," Commissioner Copps told the audience at the first public hearing on media ownership in the Bay Area. "That's because the FCC is in the midst of a hugely significant proceeding that will decide what the future of our media—our TV, radio, newspapers, cable and even the Internet—is going to look like for many, many years to come."
Tips for testifying before the commissioners.
Read About the FCC's 'National Disgrace'The FCC has abandoned its mandate to ensure diversity in U.S. media.
Learn the FCC BasicsAbout the FCC's rulemaking process and how you can make a difference.
Four Points to RememberSome important points to take to the hearings.
Recursos en Espanol
The community-organized hearing was sponsored by the NAACP, Media Alliance, Youth Media Council and Free Press and endorsed by Applied Resource Center, Coleman Advocates for Youth, ColorLines, Communities United Against Violence, Critical Resistance, Just Cause Oakland, La Raza Centro Legal, Power, Prometheus Radio Project, San Francisco Day Laborers Program, School of Unity and Leadership, SPIN Project, Youth in Focus, and Youth Movement Records.
"California in particular is and will be adversely affected by the gobbling up of smaller media outlets by larger conglomerates," said Alice Huffman, president of the NAACP California State Conference. "And who is affected: small communities, rural communities, and minority populations. As broadcasters become fewer in number, the arena for debate and discussion becomes smaller and smaller."
Director of the Youth Media Council, Malkia Cyril, spoke about the impact of media consolidation on communities of color, "Sure, people of color are in the news, but as crime suspects. This is about being able to have more local control over the media outlets."
With hundreds of Bay Area journalists being laid off and local TV news coverage being scaled back, the Bay Area media market is already feeling the effects of consolidation. A new report released by the Media and Democracy Coalition shows that these new rules would further limit the already small number of independent and diverse voices.
"NBC's Telemundo is closing its doors in the Bay Area," said Sydney Levy, program director of Media Alliance. "Dean Singleton is reducing the staff at the San Jose Mercury News. Clear Channel spews hate into our communities. The question is: are we going to reward these companies by allowing them to own more media outlets and increase their monopolies?"
>>>Read the report How Bigger Media Will Harm California
The public hearing featured panel discussions on how media concentration affects local news and information. Panel participants included Al Hammond, director, Broadband Institute of California, Santa Clara University School of Law; John McManus, director, Grade the News; Karen Slade, general manager, KJLH-FM; Micheline Wilcoxen, executive director, Community Technology Organizing Consortium of Southern California; Paul Porter, co-founder, Industry Ears; and Tram Nguyen, executive editor, ColorLines. Tanya Hart, host of Hollywood Live, moderated the discussion. For more information on the Oakland hearing, visit Media Alliance.
The Oakland public hearing aired live on KPFA FM. Visit KPFA.org to listen.
Read Davey D's hip-hop column on frustrated music fans, media ownership rules and the Oakland hearing.
The hearing may be over, but the FCC is still waiting to hear from residents of the Bay area. Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein urged the public to make their concerns about media ownership and local programming known to the Commission in an article published in the San Francisco Chronicle. Read Bay Area's New Opportunity to Craft Media Ownership Rules.
"The first step to building diverse, local, democratic media is for the FCC to end its war of words, warrants and weapons against microradio stations," says Kéllia Ramares in the Online Journal. Read about the Oakland hearing from someone who testified after the live coverage was shut down.
The marriage of Comcast and NBC is bad news for consumers. But Washington and Wall Street have already bought into the idea that it's a done deal. That's why Americans need to speak out now and stop the mega-merger!
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