Archive for October, 2007
Thursday, October 4th, 2007 by jstearns
In a report released yesterday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that the FCC consistently leaks vital information to corporate lobbyists and Big Media stakeholders, giving them a leg up on sensitive votes and rules. Industry representatives admitted to the GAO that they had been given key confidential information before critical votes. In contrast, the representatives of consumer and public interest groups were consistently left out of the loop. This insider knowledge allows industry reps to meet with FCC staff to lobby their position before major decisions are made, while the public is left in the dark.
Let the Sunshine In
For too long, media policy has been made in secret, behind closed doors. This recent GAO report highlights this fact, pointing out that when critical decisions are about to be made only Big Media is invited to give their input. This special treatment is due in part to the revolving door between Big Media lobbying firms and the FCC. Forbes reports that “The FCC trails only the White House and the House of Representatives in the number of employees who have passed through Washington’s ‘revolving door’ from the public to the private sector, or vice versa.” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin himself was formerly a lobbyist, and FCC staffers regularly take cushy lobbying jobs when they leave the government.
The people who are most affected by the media have been kept out of the process for too long. The FCC needs to bring their policymaking process into the light of day. After all, the public owns the airwaves. The kind of insider-trading the GAO exposed causes incalculable damage to our media system, the public trust, and our democracy.
A Forgotten Mandate
When the FCC was established in 1934, it was tasked with the regulation of the public airwaves in a manner that supports diversity, localism and competition. Yet today we have six companies who control a vast majority of what we see, read and hear; and these same Big Media companies are being given handouts by the FCC that allow them to get even bigger. Somewhere along the way, the FCC has forgotten its commitment to the public.
Media shapes our lives in powerful ways, and we should have an equally powerful say in shaping it. We need the FCC to reclaim their mission and invite the public to the table.
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Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 by jhoward
It’s shameful that after months of taxpayer-funded research, the Federal Communications Commission still lacks the basic understanding of which stations are actually owned by women and people of color.
Consumer groups yesterday exposed how the FCC’s official media ownership research failed to account for the majority of the female- and minority-owned broadcast stations.
“The Commission has no hope of conducting meaningful policy analysis using such inaccurate and incomplete information,” said Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America.
The FCC was ordered to address minority ownership issues as part of the landmark 2004 Prometheus v. FCC decision. In August, after nearly a year of inaction on the issue, Chairman Martin asked for public comment on a series of proposals on minority media ownership. However, the public was given just a narrow, two-month window — ending Oct. 1 — to weigh in on the complex proposals.
“In the rush to push forward its pro-consolidation agenda, the FCC did not give the critical issue of female and minority ownership the careful consideration it deserves,” said Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press. “We should be focused on getting it right, not racing to the finish line.
Studies from Free Press — Out of the Picture and Off the Dial — reveal the alarming state of female and minority ownership. While women make up 51 percent of the entire U.S. population, they own less than 6 percent of all full-power radio and TV stations. People of color make up 33 percent of the entire U.S. population, yet own 7.2 percent of the broadcast stations.
“Any policy changes that increase media concentration will unambiguously cause a further decline in female and minority ownership,” said S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press and author of the two studies. “The FCC should be considering polices that roll back consolidation — not increase it.”
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein has called for an independent, nonpartisan task force to address the minority media ownership crisis. The task force has been endorsed by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), as well as Rainbow PUSH Founder Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.
“The lack of minority broadcast owners is one of the most important civil rights issues of our time,” said Rev. Jackson in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.
The FCC needs halt its march towards consolidation and concentrate on the media diversity crisis.
Read the comments filed by consumer groups
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Monday, October 1st, 2007 by jstearns
In a guest post, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson shares a letter he sent to the Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC, in support of Commissioner Adelstein’s proposed independent task force on female and minority ownership. You can join Reverend Jackson in supporting Commissioner Adelstein’s call for an independent panel on female and minority ownership by clicking here.
September 26, 2007
Dear Chairman Martin:
I first want to thank the FCC for holding its September 20th hearing at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago. The hearing was a rare opportunity to hear from a segment of our population seldom asked for their opinion on media policy issues, even though they are greatly impacted by your decisions.
During the hearing, Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein called for the creation of an independent minority ownership task force before moving forward with any effort to change our nation’s broadcast ownership rules. Many who testified also supported Adelstein’s call. And in recent days, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) have endorsed the idea.
I would like to add my voice to the growing chorus of support for Commissioner Adelstein’s proposal.
Media consolidation is a civil rights issue that the FCC can no longer neglect. People of color understand the importance of media ownership in ensuring that our communities receive the news and information they need.
In 1827, the founders of Freedom’s Journal, the first African-American newspaper, wrote: “We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. … From the press and the pulpit we have suffered much by being incorrectly represented.”
These words are as true today as they were 180 years ago.
People of color still do not have equal access to our public airwaves because of a legacy of discrimination and media consolidation.
According to research by Free Press, people of color constitute just 7 percent of all full-power broadcast TV and radio owners in the United States but they make up 35 percent of the population. This level of inequality is disgraceful.
I support Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein’s call for the creation of an independent task force. And I agree with the commissioner that the FCC should not move forward with any rule changes until the work of the task force is completed. I am willing to serve on such a panel and help ensure its success.
The lack of minority broadcast owners is one of the most important civil rights issues of our time. For too long others have spoke for us, and for too long the FCC has neglected to address how to increase minority ownership.
We can not afford to wait any longer. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Founder and President
Rainbow PUSH Coalition
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