FCC Town Meeting in Iowa City a HUGE Success!
Iowa City, Iowa
Update: Town Meeting a huge success…more than 500 people packed the Pomerantz
Center at the University of Iowa to participate in a forum
on media ownership. – Free Press
“FCC official warns against media consolidation” – Des Moines Register
“400 Attend FCC Forum” – Iowa City
Press-Citizen
“Residents air media complaints; FCC officials listen to
criticism, ideas” – Cedar Rapids Gazette
“Forum Criticizes Big Media” – Daily Iowan
“Iowans irate with media,” says Adelstein, Broadcasting & Cable, October 6
Wow! Is the only word
to describe it. The FCC Town Hall
Meeting on the Future of the Media was a phenomenal success! 500
people packed the University
of Iowa’s Pomerantz
Center Wednesday night. One-hundred people gave 2-minute testimony
before Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps’ aide Jordan Goldstein,
describing how our media is failing our communities.
smashing success. From left to right: John Nichols of The Nation; Mark
Smith, President, Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO; Nicholas
Johnson, Professor, University of Iowa College of Law, former FCC
Commissioner; and Amy Johnson Boyle, former KGAN anchor, currently
Marketing & Communications Director, Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of
Commerce. Photo courtesy of Dennis Roseman.
People came from across Iowa to make sure their voices were heard.
The Quad Cities’ group, Progressive Action for the Common Good, was
there in force as were Johnson County DFA’ers and of course Iowans for Better
Local TV. All three groups were
co-sponsors of the event.
Other
co-sponsoring organizations were:
University of Iowa Lecture
Committee, FAIR!, Iowa City Federation of Labor, SEIU Local
199, Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Iowa Civil Liberties Union, Linn County
InterReligious Council, American Federation of Teachers Local 716, AFSCME Local
12, League of Rural Voters, Iowa City GLBT Pride Committee, Quad Cities
Interfaith, Iowa City Public Access Television, Iowa Federation of Labor,
AFL-CIO, Johnson County League of Women Voters and ICAN.
Special thanks to Amanda Ballantyne of FreePress for the
incredible job she did organizing her first ownership meeting.
Goldstein, Copps' senior legal adviser, listened attentively until nearly midnight, as more than 100 concerned citizens
each offered two minutes of testimony. All testimony was recorded and will be
submitted to the FCC and Iowa's
congressional delegation.
FCC commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein made the following
statement after the hearing:
“We learned last night that people in the heartland see
many good reasons to oppose further media concentration. We heard a lot of
solid evidence that the area's media may be failing to address key issues of
local concern. People decried the lack of serious coverage of the problems
faced in their communities. They pleaded with us not to let it get any worse.
“The verdict was unanimous – from elected leaders,
teachers, workers, minorities, nurses, parents and grandparents – people are
dissatisfied their with local media outlets. The message I will take back to Washington
is that we had better address the very real issues raised by concerned citizens
of Iowa before we consider
further media consolidation.”
To read more about the Town Meeting on the Future of the
Media, click here.
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