Craig Aaron

Free Press Action Fund Calls on Congress to Return MPAA’s Dirty Money

Jenn Ettinger — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:08:50 -0500

WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday, the Free Press Action Fund called on Congress to return campaign donations from the Motion Picture Association of America.

In an interview last week, MPAA President Chris Dodd, a former U.S. senator, threatened to cut off campaign donations to members of Congress who vote against legislation the MPAA supports.

Congress Shelves SOPA, PIPA

Lindsy Embree — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:39:26 -0500

Full article: Lake County News
Elizabeth Larson
Following what's been hailed as the largest online protest in history by citizens and Web-based companies around the nation, two bills in Congress that opponents feared would have harmed the Internet have been shelved.

Senate Delays PROTECT IP Vote After Public Outcry

Jenn Ettinger — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:24:27 -0500

WASHINGTON – On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he would delay a vote on the PROTECT IP Act. A cloture vote on the controversial legislation had been scheduled for Tuesday.

Craig Aaron, president and CEO of the Free Press Action Fund, made the following statement:

An Outside-the-Beltway Strategy

Lindsy Embree — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:36:21 -0500

Full article: CommonWealth
Shawn Zeller
Free Press, based in tiny Florence, a village of Northampton, makes it clear that its outside-the-Beltway strategy is all about avoiding Washington’s culture of back-scratching. Instead, the group tries to convince politicians to do what it wants by siccing an angry public on them. In other words, compromise is not an option.

FCC Mulls Changes to Media Ownership Rules

Stevie Converse — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:04:58 -0500

Full article: The Hill
Brendan Sasso
The FCC voted to move forward with a proposal to update its media ownership rules. The proposed regulations would loosen the ban on companies owning both a newspaper and a TV station in a top 20 market, but would leave in place a cap on the number of radio and TV stations a company can own in the same markets.

FCC Proposes New Media Ownership Rules

Stevie Converse — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:59:01 -0500

Full article: Washington Post
Hayley Tsukayama
The FCC announced that it will move ahead with a proposal to loosen the rules on media ownership. the agency voted to continue with a new proposal to lift a ban on allowing companies to own a major TV station and a major newspaper in the country’s top 20 markets. Outgoing Democratic FCC commissioner Michael Copps said that he was "deeply distressed" to discover that the measure was being considered again.

FCC Proposes More Deregulation, But Not for Radio

Stevie Converse — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:23:50 -0500

Full article: All Access
The FCC has agreed to loosen its consolidation rules -- but not for radio. The Commission has proposed easing limits on one owner holding a television station and newspaper in a top-20 U.S. market -- but existing caps on TV and radio station ownership will stay the same.

FCC Plan to Ease Cross-Ownership Rules Points to Consolidation

Stevie Converse — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:21:02 -0500

Full article: Bloomberg
Eric Engleman and Christ Strohm
The FCC agreed to propose easing limits on one owner holding a television station and newspaper in a top 20 U.S. market. Consumer groups said the move would concentrate too much power in the hands of large companies and limit the number of voices.

FCC Mulls Limits on SSAs, LNS Agreements

Stevie Converse — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:14:29 -0500

Full article: TV NewsCheck
Harry A. Jessell
The FCC is considering limiting TV broadcasters' use of shared services agreements, local news service agreements and other contractual arrangements to operate or closely cooperate with second stations in small markets where the agency's duopoly rule prohibits owning two.

Free Press: FCC Ignores Public by Pushing Failed Ownership Policies

Jenn Ettinger — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:33:41 -0500

WASHINGTON -- On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission proposed rules that would further weaken media ownership limits for local newspapers and broadcast stations. The agency's proposal is strikingly similar to one adopted in 2007 under former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.