I HOPE the FCC got the No Media Mergers message last night
According to the Stop Big Media Blog, over 500 people packed to Standing Room Only each of the two FCC meetings held in LA yesterday. More waited to get in.
And once again CNN did NOT cover the FCC Media Merger story.
The Chicago Tribune seems to be the only one running the AP story online today.
I’m surprised no Los Angeles papers are coming up in search, considering that the event was jam packed with movers and shakers, movie and TV moguls, stars, producers, directors and industry heavyweights. Here’s a sampling of some of the opinions that were expressed at the two meetings, as quoted on the Stop Big Media Blog:
“There is a gap between those who own the airwaves — the people the public — and those who control the airwaves and act against the public interest,� said civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson, who cited a recent Free Press study that shows an appalling lack of minority- and female-owned television stations across the country. “Media ownership should look like America.�“Our watch word in this discussion is that the airwaves belong to the American people and we believe it’s time to take them back,� said John Connelly, national president of AFTRA. “That is our desire and our objective and we believe that it is the FCC’s job to serve our interests.�
“When the local programming decisions are prohibited by a remote corporate parent, the public interest is not being served,� said Tim Winter, executive director of the Parents Television Council. “I urge the commissioners to listen carefully but separate the special interests from the public interest and base your decisions on what you hear here today and what best serves the public interest.�
Following the panel, the five commissioners listened to dozens of citizens — some waiting in line for more than two hours to get into the hearing — who expressed concerns about the quality of local news and programming, lack of diversity over the airwaves, and the barriers placed on independent content and local control by Big Media corporations.
“In today’s marketplace, being fired from one station is like being fired from eight stations,� said longtime broadcaster and AFTRA member Bernie Allen. “How do you expect these corporations to give us a diversity of opinion if they can’t even give the marketplace a diversity of programs?�
“What is the point of spending time on a creation that you know will be taken from you?� said Sally Hampton, an independent writer, producer and director. “These conglomerates do not have any incentives to work with true independents.�
“I personally feel that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was a disaster. It made my station worth a lot more money. But that’s not the point. It’s the public interest that matters,� said Saul Levine, a local radio station owner. “Radio is the town hall of America. But it’s small, family-owned, independent operators that count. There’s no public benefit to allowing Clear Channel to have more stations. It will drive me out of business.�
No news yet on when or where Chairman Martin of the FCC plans on holding the other 5 town meetings he’s said he’ll have on the issue.
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