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Tuesday, 04 July 2006 14:07 |
By JIM GENARO
Federal Communications Commission members Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps came to Asheville to hear from the public about media consolidation and the people responded enthusiastically.
Of the more than 300 people who attended last Wednesday??s ?®Town Meeting on the Future of the Media,?∆ almost 100 signed up to address the commissioners about proposed rule changes that would greatly decrease the restrictions on how many media outlets a single company can own in one market.
The forum, which was held at the Ferguson Auditorium in the Laurel
Building at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, afforded
concerned citizens an opportunity to speak for two minutes, following
presentations by the commissioners and several media representatives.
Many of the speakers identified themselves as employees or owners of
small media franchises. James Fisher, for instance, told the
commissioners that he is an employee of the Mountain Xpress.
?®The clear decline in local news ?? especially investigative news ?? is well-documented,?∆ Fisher said.
He added that a
difference exists between reporting facts and ?®dispensing propaganda,?∆
which he said has become rampant in the mainstream, corporate media.
Several public television advocates spoke, including Chad Johnston and Barbara Spears of Chapel Hill Public Television.
?®This is a disgrace to our democratic values,?∆ Johnston said. ?®When the
public cannot speak ?? it can only consume, we have failed as a
democracy.?∆
Spears, who identified herself as a senior citizen, said that her
involvement with public television has taught her about technologies
that she never would have otherwise learned to use.
?®Despite my age, I??ve been able to enter the new media by my
involvement with local public media,?∆ she told the commissioners. ?®I??ve
realized how much more there is out there than is broadcast on the
network and cable media.?∆
One very dramatic moment came when Eamon Martin, publisher of the
weekly Asheville Global Report, denounced the political bias of
corporate-owned media. ?®No thanks to the people of Clear Channel for
organizing pro-war rallies ?? or for you, (Asheville Citizen-Times
publisher) Virgil Smith, for justifying the war with your (expletive
deleted) lies!?∆
Anna Whitley, of Pink Hill, N.C., took a gentler approach, urging
Asheville??s citizens to appreciate the media opportunities they have.
She contrasted the media in Asheville with her rural hometown, where high-speed Internet access is not available.
?®You have something here that we don??t have further east ?? you have
community and proximity ?? and that??s priceless. You need to utilize
what you have.?∆
Kurt Mann, general manager of the newly created public access
television station URTV, told the commissioners that he had to work for
12 years to get the station started because of obstacles set by
government officials and resistance by cable companies.
?®I know the power of the media,?∆ he said. ?®I also know what it means to
chase ambulances to get a story exciting enough to put on the evening
news.?∆
By contrast, he noted that public access television provides local content that does not rely on sensational headlines.
John Root thanked the commissioners for their opposition to allowing
more corporate mergers. However, he urged them to go a step further.
?®I would love to see these big, consolidated companies broken down,?∆ he
said. ?®Media owned by people outside this region divides the community
and numbs it ?? making people feel helpless.?∆
One woman told the commissioners that she has recently become politically active after reading reports of genocide in Darfur.
?®Trust me, I am not a public speaker ?? I am not an activist,?∆ she said.
However, she added that she has recently begun a hunger strike to raise
awareness of the conflict in the Sudanese territory, which has made her
more aware of the power of activism.
?®I have a voice. I am not just a pair of eyes behind the camera,?∆ she said.
?®My message is this: ?¥I??m mad as hell and I??m not going to take it any more!???∆ she added, quoting the 1976 move ?®Network.?∆
A man in the audience addressed the effect that having only one daily
newspaper can have on the ability of reporters to carry out
investigative reporting.
?®Inevitably, a good reporter acting in the public??s interest will step
on some toes,?∆ he said. ?®A decade ago, a reporter who got fired for
stepping on toes could go across the street to the paper next door.
Today, there is no paper next door.?∆ |
