FCC gets earful at hearing People speak out against big media by Dale Neal ASHVILLE [NC] CITIZEN-TIMES
published June 29, 2006 12:15 am http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/NEWS01/60628091/1149 ASHEVILLE Zacnite Figueroa said she argued with her father about speaking out at a public hearing on media ownership Wednesday. He was raised in the Mexican way: Dont say anything and you live a long life, the 15-year-old Hendersonville girl said. But Im scared that big media will take over everything and minority voices wont be heard. I want my voice to be heard and keep this wonderful democracy alive. Fears that big media could get bigger brought speakers from across the state to express concerns about who owns local newspapers, radio and TV stations before FCC Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps. The two commissioners have pushed for more public hearings on media ownership. The event was staged by Free Press, a national media reform group. More than 90 speakers took their turn in a packed Ferguson Auditorium at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, offering their concerns about changing the rules on media ownership. Many talked about low-power radio stations and community public access TV stations trying to keep their share of the public airwaves against commercial stations owned by large companies. When the Federal Communications Commission proposed loosening rules on how many media outlets companies can own in 2003, 3 million Americans fired their opinions to the board, said Copps, one of five FCC commissioners. Those voices need to be heard again as the FCC is once more looking at loosening restrictions on how many radio or TV stations a single company can own, Copps said. ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
