Next FCC Localism Hearing: Portland, Maine
The Federal Communications Commission will hold its first localism hearing since 2004 in Portland, Maine on June 28.
Previous localism hearings were held in Charlotte, N.C.; San Antonio, Texas; Rapid City, S.D.; and Monterey, Calif. The localism hearings are part of a larger set of initiatives “to enhance localism among radio and television broadcasters” put forth by former Chairman Michael Powell in 2003.
As it turns out, Portland provides a great example of the devastating impact of media consolidation on local broadcasters. Pro-consolidation policies at the FCC and in Congress have led to the loss of Portland’s local media ownership.
All three of the major TV network affiliates in Portland were locally owned until a decade ago, when large conglomerates Hearst-Argyle, Sinclair and Gannett snapped up the stations. Now there are no locally owned and operated full-power commercial Portland TV stations. After Hearst-Argyle purchased the only local, female-owned TV station in 2004, there are no female TV station owners — and no TV stations are owned by racial and ethnic minorities.
The radio market in Portland isn’t much better in terms of local broadcasters. In total, non-local owners control nearly 80 percent of Portland’s commercial radio stations. There is only one local owner in the Portland market, Atlantic Coast Radio, which controls six stations. None of Portland’s 26 commercial radio stations are owned women or people of color.
If the FCC eliminated the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban, then the Portland Press Herald (owned by Frank Blethen, an outspoken opponent of media consolidation) would be a tempting target for a takeover by the market’s top TV station owner, Gannett. The official public hearing in Portland provides an opportunity for citizens in Maine to tell the FCC how they feel about this prospect.
Stay tuned to www.stopbigmedia.com/=portland for more details.
