I'm forwarding this because I think our access to media or lack thereof will be a major determinant in how successful we are in bringing about radical change. Aaron. > > FAIR-L > Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting > Media analysis, critiques and news reports > > > > > >ACTION ALERT: >NAB 2000: Speak Out for Media Democracy > >August 30, 2000 > >Commercial broadcasting has gone through stunning changes in recent years, >as deregulation and consolidation have shifted the balance of power to a >small handful of companies with interests and investments spread across the >media landscape. Ironically, the changes have been most profound in radio, >a >medium ideally suited to local ownership and diverse content. > >That historic shift has inspired citizens to gather in San Francisco in >September for the annual radio convention of the National Association of >Broadcasters (NAB), the principal lobbying and membership organization of >the commercial broadcasting industry. Activists will take to the streets to >voice their opposition to corporate management of the public's airwaves, >and >to reopen the debate over who exactly should get access to this vital >public >resource. > > >How Did NAB Nab the Airwaves? > >Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996-- which was essentially bought and >paid for by the NAB and other corporate media lobbies-- there has been a >parade of media mergers. The most dramatic consolidation has occurred in >the >radio industry, creating a handful of huge radio empires like >Viacom/Infinity and Clear Channel. > >The damage to radio diversity is staggering: Over 4,000 radio stations have >been bought up since the Telecom Act, and minority ownership of media >declined about 9 percent in the two years following the Telecom Act, the >largest drop since the federal government began tracking such data (USA >Today, 7/7/98). > >The changes wrought by Telecom '96 should come as no surprise: The NAB is >one of the top lobbying groups on Capitol Hill, and was intimately involved >in crafting some of the legislation themselves. > >But the NAB still isn't satisfied, with broadcasters looking to deregulate >the market even further. They're now pushing the FCC for an end to >cross-ownership rules, which are all that prevent newspapers from being >absorbed by the broadcast industry. They have already successfully lobbied >to eliminate rules that prohibited a network from owning two stations in >the >same city. > > >What's at Stake? > >--Low Power Radio >Against this backdrop of an increasingly consolidated media, low power >radio >activists have been working for years to free the airwaves from the large >broadcast companies. Through years of civil disobedience, activists >eventually won a partial victory in January 2000, when the Federal >Communications Commission (FCC) announced its plans to begin licensing low >power stations in much of the country. > >Quick to counterattack, the NAB led a lobbying effort to get the FCC to >reverse course. What was originally a plan to bring literally hundreds of >new, non-commercial voices to the airwaves now faces an uphill battle on >Capitol Hill. > >--Campaign Finance Reform >Just like low power radio, campaign finance reform is an issue that has >garnered support across the political spectrum. Because much of the money >raised for political campaigns is given to corporate media to buy campaign >advertising, the NAB has consistently opposed common sense campaign finance >reform measures like free airtime for candidates. > >The gravy train for broadcasters keeps getting richer: One study found that >House incumbents were spending 60 percent more on television and radio >advertising in 1994 than they had just four years prior. Broadcasters work >the other side of the political money game as well, donating millions of >dollars in "soft money" to the major political parties. > >--"Public Interest" PR >While long-standing FCC provisions mandate that broadcasters serve the >public "interest, convenience or necessity," few licenses have been revoked >for failure to provide public service. For their part, the broadcast >industry wants you to know that they indeed perform a valuable service to >the community. > >To prove their point, the NAB commissions an annual study that assigns a >dollar figure to their public service. In 1998, the NAB's "Bringing >Community Service Home" figured that commercial broadcasters provided >public >services to the tune of $7 billion a year. Over half of that total, >however, >is based on the dubious assumption that all the airtime given to PSAs could >have been sold to paying advertisers; many PSAs air in hard-to-sell >timeslots, like the middle of the night. > >A more concrete measurement of community service, by the Benton Foundation >and Media Access Project, evaluated the programming offered by commercial >media. They found that local public affairs shows made up less than one >half >of one percent of the fare offered by commercial broadcasters. Thirty-five >percent of the stations had no local news, and 25 percent had no local >public affairs programming whatsoever. > > >Fight Back! > >From the perspective of corporate media, the future looks brighter than >ever. Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin (1/2/00, CNN) foresees a world where the >media business is "more important than government... more important than >educational institutions and non-profits." He added that corporate >dominance >"is going to be forced anyhow because when you have a system that is >instantly available everywhere in the world immediately, then the >old-fashioned regulatory system has to give way." > >ACTION: >Activists from around the country are heading to San Francisco in September >to make their voices heard. If you can't make it, you can still contribute >to the efforts to free the public airwaves from corporate domination. > >--Write to the Federal Communications Commission and demand that they >create >common sense public interest requirements for broadcasters operating on the >public airwaves. > >Chair William Kennard >Federal Communications Commission >445 12th St. SW >Washington, D.C. 20554 >1-888-225-5322 (1-888-CALL FCC) >mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >--Write to the National Association of Broadcasters to let them know that >citizens of a democracy demand more substance from the broadcasting >conglomerates than they are currently delivering. The broadcasters get free >access to the airwaves-- what does the public get in return? > >National Association of Broadcasters >Edward O. Fritts, President and CEO >1771 N Street, NW >Washington, DC 20036 >Phone: 202-429-5300 >Fax: 202-775-3520 >mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >For more background on the NAB and the broadcast industry, see: >http://www.fair.org/nab.html > >For more about the demonstrations in San Francisco, see: >http://www.mediademocracynow.org > > ---------- > >Feel free to respond to FAIR ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ). We can't reply to >everything, but we will look at each message. We especially appreciate >documented example of media bias or censorship. And please send copies of >your email correspondence with media outlets, including any responses, to >us >at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] . > >FAIR ON THE AIR: FAIR's founder Jeff Cohen is a regular panelist on the Fox >News Channel's "Fox News Watch," which airs which airs Saturdays at 7 pm >and >Sundays at 11 am (Eastern Standard Time). Check your local listings. > >FAIR produces CounterSpin, a weekly radio show heard on over 120 stations >in >the U.S. and Canada. To find the CounterSpin station nearest you, visit >http://www.fair.org/counterspin/stations.html . > >Please support FAIR by subscribing to our bimonthly magazine, Extra! >For more information, go to: >http://www.fair.org/extra/subscribe.html . Or call 1-800-847-3993. > >FAIR's INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: FAIR accepts internship applications for its New >York office on a rolling basis. For more information, please e-mail Peter >Hart ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > >You can subscribe to FAIR-L at our web site: http://www.fair.org , or by >sending a "subscribe FAIR-L enter your full name" command to >[EMAIL PROTECTED] . Our subscriber list is kept confidential. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. _______________________________________________ Crashlist resources: http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist
