News

WASHINGTON — On Monday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler supporting media ownership limits and acknowledging concerns about broadcasters’ use of shell companies and other shady tactics to skirt those rules.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler sent a letter to CTIA, the trade group representing wireless companies, calling on it to adopt consumer-friendly cellphone-unlocking policies and to inform customers of those policies. The letter suggested that without voluntary action from the companies, the FCC would step in.

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller introduced the Consumer Choice in Online Video Act. The bill would help online video companies like Netflix compete alongside traditional pay-TV providers and would keep broadband Internet service providers from trying to squelch those alternatives.

UPDATE: A gutted version of the USA Freedom Act passed in the House on May 22. Because that bill removed many of the privacy protections that were present in earlier forms of the bill, the Free Press Action Fund did not support it.

WASHINGTON — Late Tuesday, the Senate unanimously confirmed Tom Wheeler as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Michael O’Rielly was also confirmed as a commissioner.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the Sinclair Broadcast Group responded to a report Free Press released this week.

WASHINGTON — On Monday, Free Press released Cease to Resist: How the FCC’s Failure to Enforce Its Policies Created a New Wave of Media Consolidation. The report investigates how companies are using shady tactics to buy up TV stations and build new national media empires.

WASHINGTON — On Friday, Free Press delivered a letter with more than 75,000 signatures to Attorney General Eric Holder, urging the Department of Justice to end the harassment and intimidation of journalists, specifically at U.S. borders.

WASHINGTON — As the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees plan upcoming hearings on U.S. surveillance programs and data collection, the StopWatching.Us coalition today announced that it will bring thousands to the nation’s capital to rally against mass surveillance.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to eliminate the so-called UHF discount. Getting rid of this outdated loophole is a long-overdue step toward curbing harmful media concentration.