The longer I work in Washington, D.C. the more I realize how important it is to hear the diversity of viewpoints from people outside the echo chamber that often times exists within the confines of D.C.'s beltway. That is why members of the Federal Communications Commission are coming to Asheville to hear what you think about the role of the media in your community.
I for one believe that towns and cities across the nation are facing a crisis of media consolidation that is slowly eroding local news reporting. And the problem could potentially worsen with the FCC launching a review just last week that might severely scale back the remaining media concentration protections that exist today. These rules, among other things, limit a single corporation from dominating local TV and radio markets or from merging a community's TV stations, radio stations and newspaper.
This week's town meeting continues a truly remarkable grassroots dialogue that has resulted in over 3 million people contacting the FCC. I didn't know that three million people knew what the FCC is! But they went ahead and wrote us out of a strong and entirely correct belief that we desperately need rules to prevent one-size-fits-all news from becoming the acceptable standard in our communities.
As a starting point, let's remember that American citizens own the public airwaves, not TV and radio executives. We give broadcasters the right to use these airwaves for free. They earn profits using this public resource in exchange for their agreement to broadcast in the public interest.
Yet we are seeing cascading national concern over what many Americans view as truly disturbing trends in our nation's media. Citizens across the country are asking how many — or, perhaps more accurately, how few? — companies should control America's TV, radio, newspapers and even the Internet? And how does the public interest fare in a consolidated environment? Will we still be able to get real local news and clashing points of view so we can make up our own minds on the issues of the day?
The issue is whether a few large conglomerates will be ceded content control over our music, entertainment and information; gatekeeper control over the civil dialogue of our country; and veto power over the majority of what we and our families watch, hear and read.
What do we citizens get in return for granting TV stations free use of our airwaves? We are coming to Asheville to tap your local expertise that can give us a look both broad and deep at what is happening here. Are stations adding to the civic dialogue? As we enter another election season, are stations covering the important issues that confront us or do they just focus on the polls and run campaign ads? Are stations covering local issues? Are they airing local musicians? Are they reaching out to minority groups within the community? Are they providing programming for all segments of the community including families and children?
If you have not been involved in these issues, I hope you will get involved. It's just that important. Few questions our country confronts have such long-term importance to our democracy. Even if the future of our media is not your number one issue, it needs to be — it has to be — your second issue.
That's because Americans get their input and develop their views about all the other critical issues of the day — the economy, jobs, peace and war, health care, education, the list goes on — from the media. They learn about them on the TV news, hear about them on the radio, read about them in the newspaper.
I can't think of any of these issues that wouldn't fare much better in an open, diverse, community-responsive and competitive environment than it fares in a closed world of ever-more media concentration.
I urge you to attend the hearing on Wednesday evening. We need your input and the input of as many of our fellow citizens as we can elicit. We have an opportunity to make sure that the public's airwaves serve the public's interest. After traveling the length and breadth of this country, I believe we have the best chance in our generation to settle this issue of who will control our media and for what purposes, and to resolve it in favor of airwaves of, by and for the people of this great country.
The meeting
A town meeting on the future of the media will be held on Wednesday, June 28 at 6 p.m. in the Ferguson Auditorium (Laurel Building) at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville, North Carolina.
Michael J. Copps is a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission.