The fix is in... again. We stopped it before, and we can stop it now.
The FCC wants to give big media the holiday gift it covets -- the ability to gobble up more local newspapers, television and radio stations. FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin, would lift the decades-old cross ownership ban. We have only a short time to say "NO" before the agency stops accepting comments from the public.
For years this ban has held back large media companies from owning both the newspapers and major television stations in the same media market. For you, this means fewer choices for your news, fewer voices in the local media, and news programming that gets worse and worse.
Competition for stories between newspapers, television and radio stations keeps reporting fresh and aggressive. Big media needs more competition, not less.
Join the fight against media consolidation and deliver a clear message to the FCC!
I oppose any relaxation or elimination of the public interest limits on media ownership. The proposed rewrite of the cross ownership ban severely jeopardizes localism and diversity, which are the cornerstones of a democratic media.
Limits on media consolidation have been a bulwark against the concentration of economic power in the marketplace of ideas -- a critical part of balancing the public service mission of the media system, and we cannot afford to compromise them in any way.
Any public policy seeking to protect diversity in the media must recognize the simple fact that ownership matters. Media consolidation has already led to declines in local and minority ownership as well as the homogenization of content in radio and television.
The proposed language permitting cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations will only worsen the problems we already have.
When the FCC attempted to weaken and remove media ownership limits in 2003, millions of Americans rose up in protest. Congress and the courts ultimately intervened to turn back that misguided regulatory process.
Now that the cross ownership ban is again under consideration, the FCC should stand firm with the public against further concentration of media ownership in the hands of the few.
A vote against these proposed rules is a vote for democracy.
[Your Comments]
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
