Time to move against an effort for further media consolidation.
The Nation blog:
...All five members of the FCC panel appeared before a hearing of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee convened by Rep. John Dingell. The questioning focused on [FCC Commission Chairman Kevin] Martin's efforts to ram through changes in the agency's media-ownership rules--changes that were widely unpopular when proposed by previous FCC Chairman Michael Powell in 2003. Martin was urged repeatedly by Democratic lawmakers not to expedite the rule changes, to allow sufficient time for the public to be consulted and to drop his plans to hold a vote at an FCC meeting on December 18 -- a vote he knows he's likely to win.
Last week, our friends at the media reform group Free Press released two reports criticizing Martin's rush for more media consolidation. Devil in the Details [PDF] exposed how the loose and ambiguous "waiver" standard proposed by Martin creates a giant loophole for big media companies to exploit. Out of the Picture 2007 [PDF] found minority-owned commercial TV stations decreased by 8.5 percent last year on Martin's watch -- with the number of black-owned stations falling 60 percent.
And the proposed rule changes will make all these problems worse! "What the FCC is proposing would result in sweeping changes to the American media landscape that would leave us with fewer competing voices and less diversity on the public airwaves," said S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press.Watch this video for a full understanding.
Take action at StopBigMedia.com to support the Media Ownership Act of 2007 that would stop the FCC from easing media ownership rules, voice your concerns with the FCC, and many other options at the link.
C'mon. Let's roll.
[No more after the break. That's all.]
