Media Media Consolidation
posted by November 22 at 16:10 PM
onMark your calendars.
There’s a public hearing at the downtown library next Thursday on the FCC’s new proposal to lift the cap on how many media outlets a single company can own in one market.
Sen. Cantwell, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) and FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein will be on hand.
FCC Hearing to be held in Seattle 6:00 — 9:00 pm Thursday, Nov. 30 2006 Seattle Public Library 4th and Madison, downtown Seattle. The FCC’s existing media ownership rules include a cap on national TV ownership, currently around 39% of the national market, and they want to raise the cap. Think about what it would mean to news if our local radio, TV and daily newspapers were owned by the same company.Attend the hearing, bring colleagues, friends and family
Testify at the hearing; everyone will have 2 minutes to comment.
Write to the FCC — send a letter before December 31st. In 2002-2003 we beat back the FCC by sending over 3 million comments to them
Write to your members of Congress. Tell the new Congress that you value a fair and free media as essential to the workings of true democracy
This is one of 6 public hearings that’s taking place around the country. (Props to Senator Cantwell for getting one of the hearings to happen here in Seattle.)
Comments
In all seriousness, why do I care if I get all my news on the internet?
I'm inclined to agree, but I'm looking for reason. I'm open to reason.
Note that twice, now, we have discovered that the FCC suppressed the results of its own studies on media consolidation after finding that results did not support the FCC's position that media consolidation is good for us.
Stop big media!
Y Generation,
1) Internet providers are owned by big Telecom companies, and those companies...AT&T...can certainly get in on the media ownership game. So, the Internet is hardly safe from media consolidation. Read up on Net Neutrality, YG... current rules allow big Internet providers to discriminate against smaller content providers in terms of distribution.
2) You, Y Generation, may be a savvy and discerning Internet news hound, but a lot of folks aren't. And so, while you're well-armed with diverse, independent analysis, others—the majority of others, who can out-vote people like you at election time—are not. Soooo, don't you want those folks exposed to as many different sources as possible...rather than one giant media corp?
Right on, Josh.
Quoting from stopbigmedia.com, here's what's at stake:
And these are the costs of consolidation:
Also important to note: this is not an "official" FCC Commission hearing, as only the two Democratic commissioners, Copps and Adelstein will be in attendance.
Still, any testimony presented will be taken into consideration during the full Commission's deliberations.
Ok, I see its importance.
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