Last week, powerbrokers in Congress once again went behind
closed doors, ignored the public interest, and acted on behalf of giant
media conglomerates instead of democracy and the public interest.
Despite the efforts of many members of both the House and Senate -
both Democrat and Republican - Congressional leadership and the White
House used tricky tactics and trickier legislation to create the illusion
of a partial FCC rollback while serving up yet another give away to Big
Media.
Last week Congress put a bogus FCC rollback provision into a giant
spending bill that will likely pass as early as December 8th. The only
provision of the June 2nd FCC rule changes that was considered during the
negotiations was the "national broadcast cap" - the percentage of American
TV viewers who may be reached by stations owned by one company. For those
of us trying to stop media monopoly, this rule is much less important than
the newspaper/TV/radio cross ownership and television duopoly/triopoly
rules that were not even on the table in this most recent negotiation.
Rather than roll back the national TV cap to the pre-June 2nd 35% level,
Congress changed it to 39% and professes that it will be "permanent." This
is not a randomly selected number. It just so happens that Viacom (owners
of CBS) currently owns stations reaching 38.8% of American households, and
News Corp (owners of Fox) owns stations reaching 37.8%. Both purposely
violated the old legal limit hoping Congress or the FCC would change the
rule. Had the 35% limit stuck, they could well have been forced to sell
off some stations to come into compliance. With a 39% limit, CBS and Fox
can keep their stations while NBC and ABC can substantially expand
holdings. Further, the new legislative language allows any company to
violate the rules for up to two years without penalty--a loophole that
will invite precisely the same kind of chicanery that resulted in Viacom
and Fox getting a 4% increase in the broadcast cap to accommodate their
illegal acquisitions.
So Congress hears the massive public outcry, addresses a tiny portion of
the disastrous FCC decision, and custom tailors it so that it looks like a
concession while letting Big Media have their way.
The real story is that in all the fuss over 35%, 39%, or 45%, the far more
significant rules have gone through virtually unnoticed. All that holds
them back at present is the September decision by a federal court to stay
the rules pending a judicial review of their integrity. Failing a heroic
judicial victory next year by attorneys with the Media Access Project
(MAP) who are challenging the FCC, these rules will be implemented with
very little attention from Capitol Hill. We're hopeful that next year's
court case will be successful, but we are still far from victory. (Of
course we'll keep you posted)
At the end of the day, a superficial victory has been won with the
broadcast cap--even with the 39% sell-out. The White House was forced to
back down to public pressure, which it has done on very few issues.
Although we shouldn't be naive. They are trying to stick us with
corporate welfare in the name of public service, gambling we won't be
smart enough to figure it out. But they've given us a foot in the door.
It is our job now to force it all the way open. Now we must refocus the
debate on the impact of permitting cross-ownership--effectively the
creation of near-monopoly media control in every city in America. This is
the 800-pound gorilla lurking in the corner as Congress debates relatively
small changes in broadcast ownership.
What can we do now?
For now, the most important work is to spread the word - to our friends,
colleagues, families - that a democratic, diverse and skeptical media is
an issue worth fighting for. Today the number of people who will take
action - make a call, sign a petition, write a letter - is in the hundreds
of thousands. With your help we can make it millions.
Help sign up more E-Activists by encouraging them to visit
the Media Alliance site and sign up for Action Alerts. They send
out alerts occasionally, (not frequently) and it's now easy to
unsubscribe.
In January, we will continue to press the Senate on the issue,
building more cosponsors for Senate Bill 1046 (a permanent
nearly-total rollback of all the rules). In the House, a coalition
of supporters will attempt to push for a vote on the "resolution
of disapproval" already passed by the Senate. Should they
succeed, all of the FCC rules will be rolled back and a major
milestone will be reached.
GOP leadership in the House blocked that vote this fall, despite a letter
to the Speaker requesting a vote that was signed by 205 Members, including
11 Republicans. In 2004, the House will launch its own "resolution of
disapproval" and attempt to force a vote using a discharge petition. This
is not the same thing as the letter with 205 signatures. This is a formal,
procedural document, which not only calls for a vote on the House
resolution but would force a vote if it collected 218 signatures. We begin
gathering names from scratch in January, and we'll only win with your
active participation.
After Congress and the White House turned a deaf ear to the last six
months of public outrage over media consolidation--ceding only a weak
legislative compromise that favors the broadcasters--the situation is ripe
for a knock-down, drag-out fight. Everything political is volatile in an
election year, and media reform is among the hottest issues in 2004.
With your continued participation - more phone calls to legislators, more
petitions, more letters to editors, more organizing in your community,
more educating in the groups you belong to - and a growing number of
Americans who understand the importance of a democratic and diverse media,
we will win this fight.
So enjoy your holiday, spread the word about the exploding movement to
build a better media, and remember the words of Margaret Mead:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Yours,
Josh Silver - Free Press
(Media Alliance thanks Free Press for making this article available)