The FCC’s 3-2 vote on June 2 to relax the few regulations concerning media ownership rules still on the books represented an unprecedented give-away to the corporate media and a striking dismissal of the public will.
The consequent popular outrage sparked a bipartisan backlash with Republicans like Trent Lott, Ted Stevens and Kay Bailey Hutchison joining Dems led by Byron Dorgan and Ernest Hollings in demanding that Congress restore a semblance of sanity and competition to the media marketplace.
“The effect of the media’s march to amalgamation on Americans’ freedom of voice is too worrisome to be left to three unelected commissioners,” William Safire wrote yesterday in the New York Times. “The far-reaching political decision should be made by Congress and the White House, after extensive hearings and fair coverage by too-shy broadcasters, no-local-news cable networks and conflicted newspapers.”
This Thursday, the Senate Commerce Committee will vote on whether to send Stevens’ proposed bill S1046–which would rescind important parts of the FCC’s corporate giveaway–to Congress for a vote.
Write your elected reps today and urge them to take immediate action to overturn the new FCC rules by supporting S1046. As much as they don’t seem to listen, on this issue, it could really help make a difference.
And check out a new website, co-founded by Nation regulars John Nichols and Robert McChesney, for extensive background on media reform, talking points, action alerts, a media activist calendar and a voluminous set of links.
