Archive for January, 2007
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 by jhoward
A recent MediaWeek article offers a quick summary of the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) case for relaxing media ownership limits but fails to mention the six new studies released by consumer groups that expose the inaccurate and misleading arguments that prop up the industry’s rationale.
Big Media’s Poverty Claims
One of Big Media’s chief arguments is that further consolidation is needed to save their industry from financial ruin. According to NAB:
“Failure to relax the existing media ownership rules could result in decreased local news and other important local services as stations on the brink of economic survival are forced to curtail such costly programming in order to remain on the air.”
But to make its case, NAB used a misleading and self-serving financial analysis. The broadcasters only report financial records from odd-numbered years, ignoring the high profits brought by election ads placed in even-numbered years.
The study Out of Focus: The NAB’s Fraudulent Financial Analysis uncovers how the revenues in even-numbered years are consistently far higher than odd-numbered years. So by discounting the higher grossing years, Big Media can claim much lower revenues. Case in point: the 2006 election season resulted in record revenues for broadcasters but was left out of NAB’s financial reporting to the FCC.
The broadcast industry remains one of the most profitable business sectors. But the NAB is trying to hide the truth.
So-Called “Digital Competition”
Big Media also claims that the Internet’s popularity is leading to a substantial decline in their audience. The Mediaweek article spells it out:
“The ‘intense competition’ local broadcasters now face from digital and other new media makes the current ownership restrictions both obsolete and harmful to the public interest.”
But contrary to the claims of NAB and other Big Media lobbyists, the reality of online news consumption is that very few Americans rely on the Internet as an important source of local news, and those that do use Web sites owned by Big Media companies.
Data from the study Internet News Media Usage suggests that online users treat Internet sources as supplements to — not substitutes for — traditional media. The study found that only about 10 percent of the Web audience visits independent news sites not operated by Big Media outlets.
And the study Local Web Sites shows that these independent sites themselves rely heavily on the original reporting of traditional media outlets. Very little of the content on these web sites consists of original local news reporting.
These studies – and the three others released alongside them — make it clear that FCC ownership rules remain necessary to promote independent and diverse sources of local news and information.
Click here for a summary of the six media ownership studies
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Wednesday, January 17th, 2007 by jhoward
FCC Jonathan S Adelstein and Michael J. Copps will be in Philly tomorrow — the home of the lead petitioner in the landmark Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC case that challenged the FCC’s last attempt to loosen media ownership rules.
Organized by Media Tank, this unofficial hearing is a chance for the public to learn more about media ownership and put their comments on the public record. Joining Commissioners Adelstein and Copps is City Councilmember Blondell Reynolds Brown, as well as a panel of speakers from local media and civic organizations who will address aspects of media ownership, diversity and consolidation. Concetta M. Stewart, Dean of the School of Communications and Theater, will moderate the forum held at Temple University. After the panel discussion, the public will be invited to offer their views on the issue.
The event will be streamed live on the Internet.
Thursday’s community-organized hearing in Philadelphia is being sponsored by Media Tank, Temple University School of Communications and Theater, Penn PIRG, Prometheus Radio Project and the Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association.
Click here for more information on the Philly hearing
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Friday, January 12th, 2007 by tkarr
Reverend Jesse Jackson joined an alliance of civil rights and consumer groups today in Memphis to call on the FCC to halt media concentration and promote minority media ownership.
During an event at the National Conference for Media Reform, the alliance released a slate of new studies that pointedly refute Big Media’s arguments for further consolidation.
The studies were delivered to the FCC with a letter signed by more than a dozen civil rights, consumer and media groups. The groundbreaking research was also made available to the public on the StopBigMedia.com Coalition Web site.
The six new studies on dismantle Big Media’s case for abandoning the ownership protections that currently prevent media conglomerates from swallowing up even more local outlets.
They include an exposé of the National Association of Broadcasters’ fraudulent financial reporting on commercial broadcasters, and an analysis of news consumption online — where the top Internet news sites are owned by the same giants that control the rest of the media.
Among other demands, the coalition letter urges the FCC to stop further concentration of media ownership until it has taken the necessary steps to promote minority and female ownership of broadcast stations.
Groups signing the letter include Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Free Press, Industry Ears, Media Access Project, MALDEF, Media Alliance, NAACP California, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, National Black Programming Consortium National Council of La Raza, National Hispanic Media Coalition, National Organization for Women, Rainbow/PUSH, R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop, and United Church of Christ.
Follow the latest developments at the Memphis conference via the blog: www.freepress.net/conference
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