There are big changes attempting to now be fast-tracked by the Republican controlled FCC. If you are not familiar with the issues at play you can go to http://www.stopbigmedia.com/ for more info, but the quick overview is they are looking to vote on further media consolidation. The new rules, if adopted, would allow one company to own the daily newspaper, 3 TV stations, 8 radio, the cable company and internet service provider in a city the size of Portland. We have a chance to weigh in at the last of the FCC Media Consolidation Hearings, still tentatively scheduled for Nov. 2 in Seattle. I would appreciate hearing your opinions on this, and if you want to attend and testify, or be involved in fighting this vote for further consolidation, please contact me.

Bruce Fife
President, Musicians Union, Local 99
bfife@afm99.org

Have your material prepared carefully...Most of these sessions elsewhere around the country have been well-scripted dog-and-pony shows. The FCC chairman seems hellbent on getting this plunged through, no matter what the cost or what the public thinks...

IMHO, it's pure bullroar...

We did an unofficial hearing in Portland in 2004. and I was involved in the planning of the LA and Nashville hearings last October and December, as well as attended and testified in LA. You may think it's pure bullroar, but we did stop them last time around and we need to do it again. There has been quick blow back from Congress immediately following the announcement to fast-track this and the good thing is that this is a non-partisan, safe issue, so I think it's something we may see the policticians stand up against. I spent the day with Commissioner Adelstein, his legal advisor and the founder of Free Press earlier this month in Portland, and I can tell you this is a serious fight. In the three years I have been working with Copps and Adelstein on this, I have never seen either of them pull back on this issue. Especially Copps, I think he sees it as his legacy. And a good one it is.

Bruce

Reclaim: That's heartening...Thanks for your effort! Keep fighting the good fight.

Same wishes to anyone else that cares to join in... Chairman Martin is WAY off base on this...

FCC to Conclude Nationwide Public Debate on Media Ownership in Seattle
Chairman ignores request from Cantwell, Inslee, Wu, Blumenauer, Hooley and DeFazio. Provides just five business days' notice.

On Friday afternoon, Chairman Kevin Martin of the Federal Communications Commission announced that the FCC will hold the last of six official hearings on media ownership on November 9, at Seattle's Town Hall. The hearing, announced just five business days in advance, will be the only chance for Northwest residents to weigh in on proposed changes that would dramatically alter both national and local media landscapes. A significant proposed change would allow one media company to consolidate a town or city's newspaper, TV and radio station under single ownership, and single editorial control.

"It's appalling that the FCC would schedule a hearing of such importance with so little public notice," said Jonathan Lawson, Executive Director of Reclaim the Media. "The FCC needs to hear from rural people, Native Americans, immigrants, working people and others who often get sidelined both in the media and in public debates on the media. Unfortunately, Martin's disrespectful timing says to these same communities, 'we don't care what you think about the media.'"

The Seattle hearing is scheduled to take place from 4pm to 11pm on Friday, Aug. 9, at Town Hall Seattle. The FCC has not announced schedule details, but the hearing will likely begin with expert panels followed by open-microphone public testimony. At stake are the FCC's rules governing media ownership. The existing rules include a cap on nationwide ownership of TV stations, limits on how many radio and TV stations a company may own in a single community, and a ban on "cross-ownership," or owning both the major newspaper and one or more broadcast stations in the same community.

The rushed timing of the Nov. 9 hearing comes as part of a concerted effort by Martin to wrap up the ownership proceeding by the end of 2007. Last week Martin gave similarly short notice of a Washington, DC hearing on localism. The Seattle hearing will be the last of six concerning media ownership; earlier hearings took place in Los Angeles, Nashville, Harrisburg, Tampa, and Chicago.

This hearing is a rare opportunity for people in the Northwest to weigh in on a debate of real national importance. The health of our media sets the baseline for our political participation, our cultural expression and our knowledge about the rest of the world. Whether people are concerned about media bias, the lack of diverse voices in the news, runaway commercialism or the dumbing-down of political debate, it's important to understand that who owns the channels we watch has a huge impact.

FCC rules at stake: www.fcc.gov/ownership
Reclaim the Media: www.reclaimthemedia.org

If interested in attending, the Musicians Union, Local 99 may be facilitating, at low or no cost, bus transportation to Seattle for the hearing.

Contact Bruce at 503-235-8791 or bfife@afm99.org for more info or to reserve a spot on the bus.