History Forum / General / General Topics / July 2004

It's not a documentary it is a twisted assortment of liesand defamations.

All of the news media in the US is owned by a handful of individuals.  
These people are multi-millionaires, which Bush considers his "base."  
They'll do anything to keep him in power.  The first thing we have to do
after we get our country back is to break them up.

CAMPAIGN UPDATE: FCC MEDIA CONSOLIDATION RULES STALLED BY ACTIVIST
LAWSUIT; CONGRESS FAILS TO ACT.    

On June 2, 2003, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) led by
Chairman Michael Powell, voted to give corporate media giants even more
control of our publicly-owned airwaves. Opponents to consolidation who
ranged from the National Rifle Association (NRA) to National Organization
of Women (NOW) and Media Alliance to the National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) protested various aspects of the rulings. The public
filed over three million comments, almost all of which opposed further
consolidation but the Powell majority of three Republican commissioners
bulldozed past popular opposition
Fortunately, a court case by MA and our allies has held up the impending
cascade of mega-mergers until at least February 11, 2004. This temporary
victory is the only thing—several half-hearted Congressional efforts
notwithstanding—that has kept the horrible, pro-consolidation rules from
going in to effect. In a decision September 3, 2003 the Third Circuit
Court of Appeals agreed with us that the potential harm of these rules
could be so great that a full judicial hearing was needed to assess the
potential impacts. That hearing will take place February 11, 2004 in
Philadelphia.

Legal Maneuvering Buys Time
Media Alliance originally brought the motion to stay the rules in the
Ninth Circuit on behalf of our members (California media workers,
nonprofits and community members interested in a diverse and accountable
media) who would be irreparably harmed by further media consolidation.
The case is being heard in Philadelphia due to a successful strategy we
devised with our allies around the country to bring similar suits and try
to keep the case out of the conservative DC courts. Through a court
lottery our fiscally-sponsored project Prometheus Radio in Philadelphia
succeeded in becoming the host-plaintiff and the case was consolidated by
the judges to the Third Circuit court there.

“The court stay is a critical victory in the ongoing struggle to prevent
a massive increase in the concentration of media ownership and therefore
unavoidable loss of localism and diversity,” said Gene Kimmelman,
Consumers Union’s Senior Director of Public Policy & Advocacy. “It’s
temporarily prevented a wave of mergers and sends a strong signal that
the FCC can’t be trusted to promote competition and diversity among media
outlets.”

Congress Fumbles
While the Courts may or may not provide some relief, it is the Congress
that has oversight of the FCC and is responsible for how media policy
impacts us all.

There have been a number of initiatives in Congress to roll back or amend
aspects of the rules approved by the FCC on June 2nd, but no meaningful
ones have yet succeeded in gaining bi-partisan support. It’s telling that
the only bill that did go through both houses addressed one of the least
significant of the FCC’s 5 rule changes and ended up as a disappointing
compromise that simply upped the limit on percentage of national
ownership to a level that exempts all the networks from any real
restrictions but that is a bit lower than that passed by the Powell FCC
itself.

The Senate did pass a bill that would completely negate the rules
changes, but the House leadership has refused to bring it to a vote. The
White House has indicated it does not want such a bill to come across
Bush’s desk, especially in this election year, and that the President
would veto it. While Bush’s Republican allies in the House seek to
prevent this politically damaging scenario, House Democrats see it as a
possible wedge issue and are pushing to get more co-sponsors for House
Joint Resolution 72.

For up-to-the minute information on these Congressional initiatives,
visit Media Alliance website or www.media-alliance.org or
www.mediareform.net

California Localism Town Hall Meeting
While Powell and the Bush-Cheney-Rove machine have been willing to simply
override public resistance to media consolidation, just as they have with
public opposition to the war in Iraq, they still have the need for the
appearance of public consent. Criticism of Powell for not holding
significant public hearings leading up to the June 2, 2003 vote, left an
opening for FCC Commissioner Adelstein to travel the country holding his
own hearings and mobilize unmuffled criticism of the administration’s
media policies. Powell is attempting to rectify this with his own stage-
managed road show a “Localism Task Force” that is holding “Town Hall
Meetings” in six cities across the U.S..

The first of these took place in Charlotte, North Carolina in late
October, and it was clear that large media companies are getting very
organized to use these hearings to spin their message. Industry
supporters packed the room and any voices expressing the public interest
were completely drowned out.

The six-city PR road show will be coming to Central California in March
for the only west coast hearing. MA & our allies are planning to fill the
California hearing with concerned community members, media workers, and
peace and justice advocates from the Central Coast and the Bay Area. We
look forward to the opportunity to talk about the issues at community
meetings, schools, labor halls, and in the press coordinating live
broadcasts by community and ethnic media.

Late word from Powell’s office is that the California hearing will be in
Monterey, CA on March 17. The date was announced after the San Antonio,
Texas hearing January 28, 2004 which was held, not coincidentally, in the
hometown of Powell friends Clear Channel and SBC. Despite the location,
national and local activists did protest, but Powell declined to comment
on protestors concerns.

Chairman Powell says “I created the Localism Task Force to evaluate how
broadcasters are serving their local communities.” Help make the
California meeting one that Mr. Powell won’t forget and that he is sure
to comment on. Help make sure he gets a full picture of how conglomerates
are destroying local news and harming our communities.

If you’d like to contact Powell & the FCC before the hearings, you can
reach the “Localism Task Force” at 202-418-7777 or by email at
localism@fcc.gov

In 2004, we are certainly in for more of an uphill battle against
powerfully entrenched interests, but there is tremendous public awareness
and powerful momentum to counter greater media consolidation. MA is
looking forward to continuing our leading role regionally and nationally
for media justice and democracy. We can’t do it without you. “The only
way to beat organized money is with organized people.”

http://www.media-alliance.org/article.php?story=20040218174859310