FYI: >Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2000 21:17:43 -0500 >From: FAIR-L <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [FAIR-L] ACTION ALERT: Demand Open Access >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > FAIR-L > Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting > Media analysis, critiques and news reports > > >ACTION ALERT: >DEMAND OPEN ACCESS: >AOL/Time Warner merger threatens diversity of Internet > >January 19, 2000 > >Please write to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department >of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and let them know >that the public wants guaranteed open access to the Internet through >broadband cable lines, and an investigation of the antitrust issues raised >by the proposed AOL/Time Warner merger. > >For more information about what's at stake, please read FAIR's Media >Advisory, "AOL-Time Warner: Dawn of a Golden Age, or a Blow to Media >Diversity?" at http://www.fair.org/reports/aol-time-warner.html . > >Below is a sample letter, based on FAIR's own letter to the FCC, DOJ and >FTC. We include it for your convenience, and to suggest the key points we >think these agencies need to hear from the public. Of course, we encourage >you to modify it to reflect your own concerns, or to compose your own >letter. But please do make your voice heard now if you're concerned about >this merger. > >CONTACT: > >Chair Robert Pitofsky >Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Competition >Office of Policy and Evaluation, Room 394 >Washington, D.C. 20580 >(877) 382-4357 or (202) 326-3300 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >Chair William Kennard >Federal Communications Commission >445 12th St. SW >Washington, D.C. 20554 >1-888-225-5322 (1-888-CALL FCC) >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Assistant Attorney General Joel I. Klein >Department of Justice, Antitrust Division >950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW >Washington, D.C. 20530-0001 >(202) 514-2007 >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > >------------- >SAMPLE LETTER: >------------- >Dear Chair Kennard, Assistant Attorney General Klein and Chair Pitofsky: > >As the country debates the implications of the proposed AOL/Time Warner >merger, why hasn't the public heard more from the Federal Communications >Commission (FCC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Federal Trade >Commission (FTC)? I urge your agencies to conduct an immediate >investigation of how this merger will impact the public interest, >particularly in relation to anti-trust concerns and the industry's >commitment to open access to the Internet through broadband cable lines. > >In a January 2 interview with Time Warner-owned CNN, Time Warner Chair >Gerald Levin said that global media "is fast becoming the predominant >business of the 21st Century." So predominant that, according to Levin, the >corporate media are now "more important than government. It's more >important than educational institutions and non-profits." > >Levin argued that given the ever-increasing power and reach of media >conglomerates, "we're going to need to have these corporations redefined as >instruments of public service... and that may be a more efficient way to >deal with society's problems than bureaucratic governments." > >Should the democratic structure of our society really be scrapped in favor >of global corporate governance? The question is moot, claims Levin, since >"it's 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." > >Are the FCC, DOJ and FTC going to "give way"? > >The AOL/Time Warner merger strongly suggests that the FCC's stated policy of >"regulatory restraint" around open-access issues has failed to protect the >interests of consumers. Now that it will control Time Warner's extensive >cable network, AOL is likely to abandon its support for open-access. The >FCC's prediction that "market forces will compel cable companies to >negotiate access agreements with unaffiliated ISPs, preventing cable >companies from keeping systems closed and proprietary" seems to have been >proven wrong. > >Even if AOL decides, out of good will, to continue to support open-access, >the degree of control a combined AOL/Time Warner will exercise over Internet >access and the development of new media technologies shows that "market >forces" are no guarantor of democratic, competitive media. The American >public should not have to rely on the kindness of corporate executives to >protect its access to the free flow of information. > >Open-access is critical not only to assure the public of fast, affordable >connections to the Internet, but because without it, the medium will >increasingly grow to resemble cable television, where content is controlled >by a handful of interconnected firms. High-speed connections will do the >public no good if all they find on the Internet is the same >corporate-dominated, advertising-driven content they get from traditional >media. > >An independent, dynamic and diverse media is crucial to a healthy democracy. >As the Internet becomes a more integral part of the U.S. media, it is vital >that democratically accountable regulatory agencies step up and assure that >the public interest is the overriding factor in the development of these new >technologies. I urge the FCC to act now to create rules to guarantee open >access. I urge the DOJ and the FTC to investigate the antitrust issues >involved in the merger as well. > >Sincerely, > >NAME >ADDRESS > > > > ---------- > > >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. All messages to the >'FAIR-L' list will be forwarded to the editor of the list. > >Also, please send copies of email correspondence, including any >responses, to us at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] . > >Feel free to spread this message around. Put it on conferences >where it is appropriate. We depend on word of mouth to get our message >out, so please let others know about FAIR and this mailing list. > >Don't miss a single e-mail from FAIR-L. > >You can subscribe to FAIR-L at our web site: >http://www.fair.org/emaillist.html >Or, you can send a "subscribe FAIR-L enter your full name" >command to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >The subscriber list is kept confidential, so no need to worry about >spammers. > > >You may leave the list at any time by sending a "SIGNOFF FAIR-L" >command to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Please support FAIR by becoming a member. >You will receive FAIR's magazine, EXTRA! and its newsletter, EXTRA! >Update. You can become a member by calling 1-800-847-3993 from 9 to >5 Eastern Time (be sure to tell them you got the information >on-line) or by sending $19 with your name and address to: > > FAIR/EXTRA! Subscription Service > P.O. Box 170 > Congers, NY 10920-9930 > > > FAIR > (212) 633-6700 > http://www.fair.org/ > E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >list administrators: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Respectfully, Jay Fenello, New Media Relations ------------------------------------ http://www.fenello.com 770-392-9480 Aligning with Purpose(tm) ... for a Better World ------------------------------------------------------ "We are creating the most significant new jurisdiction we've known since the Louisiana purchase, yet we are building it just outside the constitution's review." -- Larry Lessig, Harvard Law School, on ICANN
