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Tuesday, 04 July 2006 14:21 |
By JIM GENARO
Federal Communications Commission members and representatives of local media outlets got an opportunity to share their perspectives on media consolidation, as well as hear input from the public, last Wednesday at a ?®Town Meeting on the Future of the Media.?∆
About
300 people packed Ferguson Auditorium at Asheville-Buncombe Technical
Community College??s Laurel Building to participate in a lively dialogue
over media consolidation and the role of the FCC in protecting media
democracy. The forum was sponsored by Free Press, a group that
advocates media reform.
Though all five commissioners were invited, according to organizers,
only two of the board??s members were present ?? Jonathan Adelstein and
Michael Copps.
At issue was the current debate within the FCC over whether to loosen
restrictions on the number of media outlets a single company can own.
| | From left, FCC commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps listen to feedback from citizens. About 300 people attended the forum. |
The FCC is required by law to review its ownership rules every four
years. During the last review, in 2003, restrictions were greatly
loosened. However, a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel
subsequently suspended the changes on the grounds that the FCC had
failed to adequately compile a record to justify them.
The two commissioners opened the forum by addressing their concerns about media consolidation.
?®I don??t think I
exaggerate in saying that what is at stake here is whether a few
conglomerates will be given control of what we see and hear,?∆ Copps
said.
?®If the future of our media is not your No. 1 issue, it sure ought to
be your No. 2 issue, because your No. 1 issue is going to be filtered
through the media,?∆ Copps added.
One issue that the FCC has failed to adequately address is minority ownership of media, he noted.
?®People of color own 1.6 percent of the broadcast assets,?∆ Copps told the assembly. ?®Is that a fair shake? I don??t think so.?∆
He also expressed dismay that his fellow commissioners chose not to be
present at the meeting and were not otherwise supportive of his efforts
at bringing the issue of media consolidation to the people.
Though he had
requested that at least 15 such forums be held nationwide, he noted,
the board only approved ?®at most, half a dozen.?∆
Copps called the struggle against media consolidation ?®an uphill
battle.?∆ However, he added, ?®I am an optimist ?? I believe in the power
of people to affect change.?∆
Adelstein addressed the assembly next, saying, ?®As a student of
history, I know that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. And we
are being vigilant here tonight.?∆
?®You hear a lot of talk these days about promoting democracy around the
world. But what about promoting the quality of freedom and democracy
right here in the United States??∆
Adelstein discussed some of the background of the changes to the ownership rules currently being debated by the FCC.
In 2003, a campaign to solicit input on the proposed changes ?? which
would have greatly loosened restrictions on media ownership ?? resulted
in more than three million responses from citizens. The vast majority
of these opposed the changes, he noted.
?®We??ve never seen anything like it before,?∆ Adelstein added.
In the preliminary round of discussions on this year??s changes,
however, the majority of the FCC commissioners have voted for
procedural rules that favor deregulation, he said.
?®I??m sad to report that the big media companies got everything they wanted,?∆ Adelstein told the audience.
This includes three key issues. The first is a lack of any commitment
to ?®giving the public opportunities to comment on specific proposals
before they??re approved,?∆ he said.
However, the Senate Commerce Committee stated last Wednesday that the
FCC needs to allow such comments, an action that Adelstein said is a
positive development.
Secondly, the procedural rules do not allow all five of the proposed changes to be voted on together.
This is
alarming, he noted, because it allows changes to be introduced slowly,
diffusing public interest by only debating small pieces of a greater
agenda at a time, over many months.
?®Certainly, we have a right to know what they??re doing altogether,?∆ Adelstein argued.
Thirdly, he added, the FCC did not ?®attempt to deal with the issue
three million people contacted us about ?? the quality of local
programming.
?®We hear again and again, ?¥If it bleeds, it leads,???∆ Adelstein said.
However, sensationalized stories do not fit the needs of local
communities, he argued.
Furthermore, Adelstein told the audience, it is a mistake to equate
deregulation with free markets. ?®This isn??t a free- market economy. You
can??t give out as many TV and radio stations as you want.?∆
Airwaves are public space, he explained, and media companies that use
them do so with the trust that they will serve the needs of
communities.
After the commissioners addressed the assembly, a panel of local media
representatives spoke about their perspectives on media consolidation.
The panel included Wally Bowen, founder of the Mountain Area
Information Network; Virgil Smith, president and publisher of the
Asheville Citizen-Times, John Hayes, executive director of the
Empowerment Resource Center; Ken Sayler, vice president and market
manager of Clear Channel Asheville; Jim Goodman, president and CEO of
Capitol Broadcasting Company in Raleigh; Gustavo Silva, co-founder of
Afrotina; and David McConville, founder of The Media Arts Project. The
panel was moderated by Nelda Holder of the League of Women Voters of
Asheville-Buncombe County.
Bowen, who addressed the audience first, discussed the history of the
FCC and media regulation, noting that the 1934 Communications Acts
?®essentially turned over the public airwaves to these for-profit
corporations.?∆
One issue Bowen expressed concern about was the decline of local media.
Within Western North Carolina, only one TV station ?? WLOS ?? is locally
based, he noted. Furthermore, a wave of deregulation that took place
during the 1980s led to a national decline in non-commercial radio
stations.
?®It??s time to
return the public airwaves of Western North Carolina to the people who
live and work in Western North Carolina,?∆ Bowen stated.
Hayes spoke next, bemoaning the absence of African-Americans in local media.
?®America plays
the race card better than anyone else,?∆ he said. ?®America plays the
race card to keep us from understanding what we can do together.?∆
Many black reporters who grew up in Asheville have to leave to start
their careers, Hayes argued, because local media outlets employ
discriminatory hiring practices.
?®What about the announcer that has 13, 14 years of experience in the media, but can??t get an interview??∆ he asked.
Smith took a different approach, challenging the notion that corporate media does not meet the needs of local communities.
?®I??m not sure what the words ?¥Big Media?? and ?¥media conglomerates?? mean,?∆ he said.
Smith acknowledged that the AC-T is owned by Gannett, a national chain that owns hundreds of newspapers nationwide.
?®Does that mean that the Citizen-Times is big media??∆ he asked, rhetorically.
Many in the audience shouted back, ?®Yes!?∆
Clearly flustered, Smith continued, asking, ?®Does that mean that our editorial policies are dictated by corporate headquarters??∆
Again, many people shouted, ?®Yes!?∆ prompting Smith to reply, ?®Ladies and gentlemen, you??re wrong!?∆
He said that in his 15 years as an employee of Gannett, he had never
experienced the corporate office attempting to influence editorial
content.
?®Common ownership enhances coverage without compromising editorial freedom,?∆ Smith added.
Sayler took the forum as an opportunity to discuss the charitable work
that Clear Channel does in the community, such as holding fund-raisers
for Toys for Tots.
Goodman spoke next, saying ?®Guys, there??s a big fight ahead. The big
companies ?? and there??s really not that many of them ?? want to own as
much as they can.?∆
He also rebutted Saylers earlier comments, saying ?®Clear Channel did
not buy all those radio stations in Western North Carolina so they can
give money to Toys for Tots.?∆
Goodman noted that under the proposed rule changes, a single company
could own the local newspaper, three TV stations, eight radio stations
and all the cable services in an urban area.
?®This is a fight ?? don??t be nice about this,?∆ he added. ?®The other side isn??t nice about it. This is about money.?∆
Silva, who was born in Uraguay, expressed concern that the media does
not adequately report on international events, particularly human
rights abuses.
?®As a Latino person, I know about the abuse of power,?∆ he said.
Silva told of his experiences being involved in the underground press
in Latin America during the 1970s and 1980s, when journalists were
often threatened with death. He said he was shocked, when he later
moved to the U.S., to learn that most Americans were unaware of the
political crises that had occurred in Latin America during that time.
?®No one knew what happened in the 1970s and 1980s, because the big corporate media was absent,?∆ he noted.
McConville focused his talk on economic development. ?®People say
?¥economic development?? and it??s some kind of mojo ?? everybody??s eyes
gloss over,?∆ he said.
However, economics cannot be separated from culture and people, McConville added.
?®Media actually plays a huge role in all three of them.?∆
Corporate media is ?®kind of trumping democracy,?∆ he added. ?®It??s not
that the American people have failed ?? it??s that we??ve been misled by
these weapons of mass deception.?∆
Furthermore, corporate media conglomerates have ?®hypocritically relied
on government-mandated airwaves,?∆ he added, calling this ?®the opposite
of the free market.?∆
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