The Iowa Caucuses Are Here
Caucuses
of the Democratic and Republican Parties will be held Monday January
16th. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness of media
issues that affect all of us. The National Black Caucus of State
Legislators has passed four resolutions that are model planks for Party
platforms. These resolutions were proposed by Iowa State
Representative Wayne Ford.
1. A Resolution In Support Of Increased Funding And Federal Support For Public Broadcasting
2. A Resolution Supporting Municipal Provision Of Community Broadband
3. A Resolution To Encourage Competition And Speed The Deployment Of Advance Communications Networks On A Non-Discriminatory Basis
4. A Resolution In Support Of Diversity In Media Ownership
Resolutions can be found here (pages 85-93) and article from Free Press is here.
The Resolution in Support of Diversity in Media Ownership reads:
“WHEREAS, freedom of the press and public access to diverse media are prerequisites for a functioning democracy; and
WHEREAS, the broadcast airwaves are owned commonly by the public and should be managed to serve the public interest; and
WHEREAS, adherence to the highest journalistic principles is a public trust; and
WHEREAS, the public interest is best served by the availability of a broadly diverse range of viewpoints; and
WHEREAS,
media diversity is seriously threatened by further consolidation of
media ownership in an already highly concentrated market; and
WHEREAS,
increased consolidation has made it more difficult to expand minority
ownership of broadcast media outlets, a key driver of diversity in news
and cultural programming; and
WHEREAS,
deregulation of radio ownership rules under the 1996 Telecommunications
Act caused unprecedented consolidation, dramatically decreasing
competition, reducing local accountability and content diversity; and
limiting access to the airwaves for local artists, community groups and
public officials; and
WHEREAS,
the Federal Communications Commission approved an unprecedented
loosening of public interest limits on media ownership in June 2003
only to see it overturned by the Courts after millions of people across
America from every political orientation voiced opposition; and
WHEREAS,
despite the fact the courts rejected these rules, the Federal
Communications Commission will soon reconsider an unprecedented
rollback of media ownership regulations which protect competition,
content diversity and local accountability in our media; and
WHEREAS,
the elimination and weakening of these regulations are likely to reduce
competition, the quality of local media coverage, local accountability,
diversity of content, diversity of voices, and the amount
and quality of news coverage in broadcast and print media across the
country, while providing windfall profits for a small handful of
corporate media owners; and
WHEREAS,
we recognize that as citizens in a democracy, we require public access
to a diverse range of media voices and messages in order to participate
fully in our community's shared social, cultural and political life;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE 29TH ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL BLACK CAUCUS OF STATE LEGISLATORS, ASSEMBLED IN WASHINGTON, D.C., DECEMBER 7 – 11, 2005, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators supports the following measures:
-We urge the Federal Communications Commission
to resist attempts to loosen public interest limits on media ownership
and further urge the Congress and the Federal Communications Commission
to protect content diversity and press freedom by retaining and
strengthening existing media ownership regulations, including
regulations that limit the number of broadcast stations one owner may
hold; and
-We urge the Federal Communications Commission
to hold public hearings scheduled by the Localism Task Force to truly
understand how media consolidation has adversely impacted communities
across the country; and
-We urge the Federal Communications Commission and the Congress to take necessary steps to encourage and facilitate increased minority ownership of media outlets.”
Media
Ownership rules are also at issue in Springfield Missouri where a
small cable company, Cable America, challenged the broadcast licenses
of stations that it says are functional duopolies. Story is here.
Media Minutes from Free Press are here.
Blog For Iowa 