OCT 22, 2007

TRUTH BRIGADE ISSUES TEAM

STOP CORPORATE MONOPOLIES ON OUR NEWS AND INFORMATION

ACTION

Tell the FCC to serve the public interest and stop media consolidation.

Tell our U. S. Legislators to stop the rules change

DESCRIPTION

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is obliged to protect and promote the public interest by assuring that the air waves, which belong to U. S. citizens, are used in the public interest by owners of television and radio stations. A wide diversity of opinions and a large number of reporters investigating stories serves that public interest. For any one person or corporation to own all or almost all the television and radio stations in one area would strangle access to diverse opinion, the very foundation on which our democracy is based.

Currently, the FCC limits the number of major sources of news and information any one individual or corporation can own in one area. But, the FCC, under the chairmanship of a Bush appointee, Kevin Martin, is preparing to gut those protections and allow massive consolidation in the hands of only one or a few owners. In fact, Chairman Martin has announced his intentions to rush through these rules changes before the end of the year, under pressure from the big corporations who want to speed up the acquisition of their monopolies.

The FCC’s own studies have shown that corporate consolidation diminishes coverage of news and information of local interest, and squeezes out the smaller locally owned stations.

Senators Byron Dorgan, a Democrat, and Trent Lott, a Republican, both sense the dangers inherent in this bad plan. They are preparing to introduce legislation that would prevent this reckless and speedy rules change.

MORE INFO

Visit Truthout and read a New York Times article:
"Republican and Democratic lawmakers are concerned about news outlets in their districts being too tightly controlled by too few companies." http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/printer_101807O.shtml

Read about how the FCC buried its own studies showing that consolidation harms the public interest, because they contradicted the intent of the FCC to push for massive consolidation. "Freedom of Information Act requests reveal that the FCC buried studies demonstrating the harmful impact of consolidation and then commissioned a biased, "junk science" agenda to prove otherwise." http://www.freepress.net/news/27301

Read an interview with an individual who was part of the research team, whose papers were buried by the FCC. "Chairman Martin should be engaged in creating safeguards and processes to allow objective media research to flourish at the FCC. I worry that he’s just too much of a partisan figure to be serious about such an endeavor." http://www.freepress.net/news/27043

Read about Senator Byron Dorgan’s efforts to prevent the FCC’s rush to change the rules. Dorgan said what Martin has proposed "will set off a firestorm in Congress, and I’ll be carrying the wood." http://www.freepress.net/news/27166

Previous Alerts:

OPPOSE SPAKOVSKY NOMINATION TO FEDERAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION

SUPPORT THE BEST FISA REVISION
REGARDING WIRETAPS

RESTORE HABEAS CORPUS

STOP APPT. OF CIA GENERAL COUNSEL

STOP FUNDING FOR IRAQ WAR

NBC AND TUCKER CARLSON'S COMMENTS

FISA COURT REVISIONS FOR WIRETAPPING

RESTORE HABEAS CORPUS & REAL ID

Oppose Confimation of James Holsinger