Accessible Airwaves

1. Let Your Voice Be Heard - Send a Message to the FCC Let the FCC know that their new rules should honor ownership diversity by guarding against media consolidation. Tell the FCC not to yield to special interests. 2. Tell Your Friends Broadcasters who use the public airwaves have a responsibility to operate in the public interest.  The FCC may allow media companies to get even bigger, reducing their connection to local communities.

December 20, 2006

Tell the FCC not to yield to special interests in re-writing media ownership policies
Posted by The Rev. Bob Chase

Three years ago, the FCC voted to scrap many of the ownership limits that were in place to safeguard diversity of voice on the airwaves. The agency's new rules allowed a single corporation to dominate local media markets by merging the community's TV stations, radio stations, newspaper and other outlets. A storm of public outrage ensued. More than two million citizens contacted the FCC to express their opposition to the new rules.

Then a federal court found the rules to be flawed and sent them back to the FCC for rewriting. Several months ago, the FCC launched a review of these very same rules. A new dialogue has begun and it is essential that those of us who are concerned about the public interest in media contact the FCC with our concern that media consolidation is not in the best interest of democracy in this country. Send your message to FCC; follow the following instructions:

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HOW TO CONTACT THE FCC:

1. Click here to go to the public comment form: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/ecfs/Upload?hot_docket=1010800991%7C06-121%7CMedia+Ownership+Further+Notice+of+Proposed+Rulemaking&Send=Continue

2. Enter your personal information on the fields provided.

3. Send the following message to the FCC:

Dear Chairman Martin and Commissioners:

As a supporter of the United Church of Christ's media advocacy efforts, I write to encourage you to stop large media companies from getting even bigger.

UCC has been active in promoting broadcaster's accountability to the public since the 1960s. But many of the gains of the 1960s are being lost because the FCC has allowed media companies to become too large, and to become unmoored from their local community.

The question of who owns the media is a question of justice. It is essential that the individuals owning media companies reflect the broad array of people in this country. If some viewpoints and stories are excluded from the media landscape, we are all poorer as a result. Our democracy requires the free flow of information from a broad range of diverse voices.

The question of who owns the media is a question of civic accountability. As someone who is active in my community, I am often dismayed at the scant coverage given to local political matters. School board decisions and city or town council decisions are rarely the topic of broadcast news. Yet, each year all citizens are asked to cast votes to select these local leaders. How can local elected officials represent their constituencies when citizens are inadequately informed by our media.

The question of who owns the media is a question of social responsibility. For example, children are often served poorly by the current media system. UCC has recently been instrumental in ensuring that a minimum of protection will be accorded to children who watch broadcast television. But more protection is needed. And studies show that a more consolidated media market serves children less well than a more diverse market. As a person of faith, I take a strong interest in the world around me. I believe our media should serve our societal goals of justice, fairness, and community. I strongly urge you to hold the line on media consolidation and ensure that justice, fairness, and community are the centerpiece of communication policy at the FCC.

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Through our accessibleairwaves web site, we in the UCC have shared our own story about how a handful of network executives have kept our message of extravagant welcome off the airwaves.

Click below to experience our current internet ad campaign, "a different kind of Christmas."

CLICK HERE: http://ga3.org/ucc2/stillspeakingpledge1.html

Now that this debate has been rekindled, we have been actively engaged in mobilizing the faith-based community to lift its voice in opposition to media consolidation. This is not just talk: We have formed an Interfaith Task Force on Media (recently endorsed by the National Council of Churches Communication Commission); we are co-hosting, with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, a roundtable discussion with present and former FCC Commissioners to be held in New York City on January 9; we are hosting a reception featuring CBS News Senior Correspondent Randall Pinkston and serving in other leadership roles at the Media Reform Conference in Memphis, January 12-14.

Your participation is critical in the months ahead. We invite you to join with us by contacting the FCC, signing up for e-mail updates, by supporting our efforts to continue this struggle with your generous gifts, and by telling your friends about this effort to mobilize people of faith and our social justice partners to support the public interest in media. We also will be looking for local partners in the coming months to participate in a community dialog on Why Media Matters.

PLEASE MAKE A DONATION: https://secure.ga3.org/03/122006

Thanks for your commitment to this work, Bob

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