The Portland Town Hall on The Future of the Media June 24, 2004
5:30 pm Oregon Convention Center
On Thursday, June 24, the two democratic FCC Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps opened their ears to the people of Portland, giving them a unique opportunity to directly address the creators of America's media policy. The Town Hall consisted of two panels: the media consolidation panel was composed of David Leiken, Owner of Double Tee Concerts; Mary Lou Gunn, the VP/Market Manager at Clear Channel; Michael Powell, the owner of Powell's City of Books; Andrea Cano, from the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries; and Madelyn Elder, the President of the Communications of Workers of America Local 7901. Each panelist was allotted five minutes to present to the commissioners, after which twenty minutes were allowed for questions and comments from the Commissioners, followed by an hour of Public Comments and Testimony. Any member of the public was welcome to sign up to speak.
Unfortunately I arrived just in time to hear the moderator call for the break before the beginning of the second session. This gave me ample time to peruse the various pamphlets and informative offerings from the local groups tabling in the lobby. I was particularly grateful for the fact sheet provided by freepress, which outlined the roles of the various media policy makers. If, like me, you are a little unclear on the exact role of the FCC, or of the influence it has over the who, what, where, when, and how of national media, here's a quick low-down: according to the freepress fact sheet: "The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is an independent U.S. government agency directly responsible to Congress. There are five FCC Commissioners, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Traditionally, three of the Commissioners come from the President's Party, and one these acts as Chairman. The two other Commissioners come from the minority party. The current Chairman is Michael Powell, son of Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"The FCC does not pass laws. Instead, they issue techical regulations, enforce these regulations, and enforce laws enacted by Congress. Congress can override any FCC regulation through law, but rarely does so.
"The FCC's main duty is to manage the public airwaves. Their regulations affect all varieties of broadcasting, telephone, cable, cell phone, and satellite companies. The FCC is supposed to ensure that broadcasters who use the airwaves, free of charge, are serving the 'public interest' in return."
Although various topics were addressed during the forum, most of the exchange centered around the effects of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, which effectively de-regulated media ownership, making it easier for large media conglomerates to dominate various local and national media markets nationwide. On Thursday, people from all over the Portland Metro Area gatherered to have an opportunity to voice their opinions on FCC media policy. The turnout was surprisingly low; the Hall, which appeared capable of holding well over five hundred people, only about half full when I arrived. Still, various panelists as well as the Commissioners themselves commented that the turnout was fairly large, given the ironic fact that few of the media sources that were under discussions bothered to publicize the meeting.
Localism was the topic of the second panel, which consisted of L.C. Hansen, a KBOO Board Member; Michael Brown, the President of Brown Broadcast Services, Curt Henninger, the Senior VP and General Manager for Oregon and SW Washington, Comcast; David Olson, the Director of the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, the Nigel Ballard, the Wireless Director for Matrix Networks, and a Member of the Portland Telecommunications Steering Committee.
Hansen kicked off the panel with a humorous endorsement of the type of journalism provided by KBOO, proffering KBOO's programming charter as a model for media business practices. Hansen also suggested that journalism that fosters the creation of "masterpieces of American culture" ought to be enforced through various means: the ratings that dictate media licensing ought to include measurements for diversity and PSAs; there ought to be an Open Annual meeting, and fines for violations (such as for allowing profanity) ought to be set in relation to the percentage of revenues for per station, thereby ensuring that smaller stations such as KBOO will not be threatened with bankruptcy if one particularly offensive song should make it on the air.
Brown spoke next, focusing primarily on issues related to the establishment and regulation of LPFMs (Low-Power FM radio stations), which are threatened under the current regulations. He maintained that the FCC ought to prioritize localism by supporting LPFM stations, which according to a recent study (in contrast to the reasons cited by ClearChannel for putting limitations on LPFM stations) do not in fact interfere with other technology, such as cell phones and aviation equipment, that utilize similar parts of the bandwith.
The representative from Comcast (who, for those of you who don't know, currently holds a virtual monopoly in many areas of the country as the sole cable television and internet provider in various areas, and will soon be among the largest and most wealthy companies in the nation, and is looking to purchase Disney) read what seemed to come straight from the belly of the PR department: a line of humorless rhetoric designed to make the company seem customer- and locally-oriented. Henninger went so far as to contend that market "competition is robust," citing as evidence the number of cds he receives in the mail regularly from companies like AOL that offer hourly rates for internet service. Further evidence of Comcast's supposed committment to localism was the fact that cable service had recently been made available to 100% of the area, providing services such as on-demand cable. He cited the company's recent addition of 15,000 employees as evidence of their committment to customer service (a claim which lost some its shine when Margaret Butler, a rep for Jobs with Justice pointed out that Comcast routinely undermines the rights of workers, opposes unions and is notorious for destroying workplace freedoms).
Olson's was the most humorous speech, providing much-needed relief from Henninger's cheery PR fusillage. Referring to Oregon's notorious quirkiness, Olson pointed out that was unique in being "the only state where you can take your own life but you can't pump your own gas." He went on to outline Oregon's historic committment to serving the public interest through the co-operation of communities and government, aptly quipping "The angel of public interest does not descend on couch potatoes...who sit in front of their TEVO." (Michael Powell, in partial explanation for his policy of media de-regulation, said he "had not been visited by the angel of public interest.") He went on to point out that signing with Comcast had removed 40% of the public's right to open access, and closed with the eloquent statement that "Monopolies are so much easier to prevent than to undo."
Olson was followed by Nigel Bower, a representative and advocate for wireless technology, who boasted of the city's 130 open Internet access points, which are provided at no cost, free of restrictions or tracking. He advocated for more free access to the net.
Commissioners Adelstein and Copps thanked the panel for their comments, expressing a desire to take something back for the community from the companies that profit from the (public) spectrum. Copps expressed concern that most news sources are owned by the same people, which creates a dangerous monopoly on the information that is available to the public. "The Internet wants to be free," he said, "but that freedom is not guaranteed," pointing out that it takes the kind of properly motivated community of which Portland is an example to maintain media freedom.
It was then the public's chance to address the Commissioners. The overall tone expressed by the majority of the speakers was simple: media de-regulation doesn't serve anyone but large profit-driven companies, who have little incentive to offer diversity, support local arts, or to create venues for un-biased or balanced coverage of issues that affect the everyday lives of Americans. The wide variety of complaints against de-regulated media were voiced by various representatives of local advocacy groups. A rep from the local 99 for musicians pointed out that ClearChannel virtually dictates the production and distribution of music, having the power to threaten artists with no airplay and having no interest in exploring new, local talent. A rep from the Money and Politics Research Project cited that, while spending on political advertising on the public airwaves has increased five-fold, impartial coverage of political issues continues to decline.
The following are some of the suggestions for reform advocated by speakers:
-Broadcasters should be taxed based on a percentage of their revenues for their use of the bandwith
-Broadcasters should be required to provide venues/services for the public interest, such as PSAs and airtime allotted to local media outlets
-Fines for failing to comply with regulations should be based on a percentage of the broadcaster's revenues
-Resources should be provided in communities for training and information regarding the use of broadcast mediums
-Local television programs, such as NCTV, should air on non-cable channels
-the FCC should regulate the broadcasting of PSAs that advocate for tolerance of ethnic and religious diversity
-Efforts should be made to provide quality, non-violent, informative programming
-Non-commercial radio stations (such as KMIH, which is a high-school run station that broadcasts out of Washington) should be supported and protected from the encroachment of media conglomerates
-Efforts should be made to protect low-fi technology such as LPFMs, HAM radios, and CBs
-News networks should be required to provide information on local issues, rather than operating under the profit-driven "if it bleeds, it leads" mindset.
-Concessions should be made that allow metro murals to be painted without allowing ClearChannel to overtake and monopolize billboard space.
Responding to the public comments, the Commissioners confirmed the need for media reform, and expressed a committment to bringing the thoughts and attitudes expressed by the public back to Washington D.C. They affirmed that media consolidation should be stopped, the license renewal process should be examined, that LPFMs should be protected, and that efforts should be made to require broadcasters to better serve the public interest. While it was heartening to hear such a response from the Commissioners, and the forum provided evidence that there is hope for media reform, the Commissioners emphasized that we as a public need to keep up the pressure and continue to advocate for our right to the national airwaves.
See also -
Media ownership chart
Federal Court Overturns FCC Decision On Media Ownership