Press Release
Over 500 pack FCC hearing in Monterey
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
Washington – Over 500 people waited in long lines for an opportunity to voice their opposition to government policies favoring big media corporations Wednesday night. The Monterey Herald, under the headline “Commissioners get an earful from public,” wrote, “It was a bad night for Big Media ... as two commissioners and a crowd of hundreds excoriated broadcasters for being generally unresponsive to local issues.” FCC Chairman Michael Powell was a no-show — for the second time in a row — citing a scheduling conflict.
The session was the only West Coast hearing in a six-part series convened by FCC Chairman Michael Powell in response to massive public criticism of the commission’s attempt to relax media ownership rules. The June 2003 FCC 3-2 decision, which would have enabled one company to own the majority of media outlets in one community, was largely overturned by a federal appeal court last month, and generated over two million communications from citizens opposing the measure. Earlier FCC hearings were held in North Carolina, Texas and South Dakota. Future meetings are planned in Maine and Washington, DC but have not yet been scheduled.
Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps — the two FCC commissioners who opposed the rules changes — criticized the broadcast industry for prioritizing profits over serving the public interest. Referring to the historic reversal of the new rules, Adelstein commented, “None of this would have happened had the American public not gotten involved.”
Among the topics raised by those testifying was the failure of the media to represent linguistic minorities, the lack of diversity of voices on the airwaves, and concern about media consolidation's effect on local news and music. “We need local media ownership that is involved in our community," said Paul Johnston, executive director of Monterey Bay Central Labor Council.
“The broken state of our media is finally getting people’s attention. People are now more willing than ever to speak up,” said Free Press Managing Director Josh Silver. “It’s precisely this kind of public involvement that will make Americans and their representatives in Washington understand how important media are to democracy.”
Free Press is a national non-partisan organization that seeks to increase informed public participation in media policy and to promote a more competitive, public interest-oriented media system. It was founded by University of Illinois professor, media scholar and author Robert McChesney. For additional background information about the FCC's hearings, see www.freepress.net/townmeetings.
The session was the only West Coast hearing in a six-part series convened by FCC Chairman Michael Powell in response to massive public criticism of the commission’s attempt to relax media ownership rules. The June 2003 FCC 3-2 decision, which would have enabled one company to own the majority of media outlets in one community, was largely overturned by a federal appeal court last month, and generated over two million communications from citizens opposing the measure. Earlier FCC hearings were held in North Carolina, Texas and South Dakota. Future meetings are planned in Maine and Washington, DC but have not yet been scheduled.
Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps — the two FCC commissioners who opposed the rules changes — criticized the broadcast industry for prioritizing profits over serving the public interest. Referring to the historic reversal of the new rules, Adelstein commented, “None of this would have happened had the American public not gotten involved.”
Among the topics raised by those testifying was the failure of the media to represent linguistic minorities, the lack of diversity of voices on the airwaves, and concern about media consolidation's effect on local news and music. “We need local media ownership that is involved in our community," said Paul Johnston, executive director of Monterey Bay Central Labor Council.
“The broken state of our media is finally getting people’s attention. People are now more willing than ever to speak up,” said Free Press Managing Director Josh Silver. “It’s precisely this kind of public involvement that will make Americans and their representatives in Washington understand how important media are to democracy.”
Free Press is a national non-partisan organization that seeks to increase informed public participation in media policy and to promote a more competitive, public interest-oriented media system. It was founded by University of Illinois professor, media scholar and author Robert McChesney. For additional background information about the FCC's hearings, see www.freepress.net/townmeetings.
