[CIMC-work] Indymedia FTAA footage to be shown on Bill Moyers Fwd: [FP] Two victories for media reform

[Chris Kaihatsu]

> PS: This Friday, February 27th, NOW with Bill Moyers will air an 
> expose on
> the repression of peaceful protest during FTAA negotiations in Miami 
> last
> November, featuring footage collected by Independent Media Centers 
> across
> the country.




Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Josh Silver" <jsilver at mediareform.net>
> Date: February 25, 2004 3:30:23 PM CST
> To: <freepress_e_activist at mediareform.net>
> Subject: [FP] Two victories for media reform
> Reply-To: info at mediareform.net, jsilver at mediareform.net
>
> The popular backlash against the FCC's lifting of media ownership
> regulations is bearing fruit: Two recent victories show that our
> collective efforts are having an impact.
>
> First: Corporate-sponsored junkets for FCC Commissioners have been
> stopped. Last year, the Center for Public Integrity revealed that the 
> FCC
> had accepted over $2.8 million in free travel and entertainment from 
> the
> very industries they were regulating. Public outrage at this and the
> loosening of media ownership regulations resulted in the FCC banning 
> this
> practice. For the complete story, visit
> http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/report.aspx?aid=188 .
>
> Second: Low-power FM broadcasting --  nonprofit radio stations with a
> reach of just a few miles -- recently received a huge boost. Last 
> Friday,
> the FCC recommended to Congress that it eliminate restrictions that
> deprived communities of their own locally-oriented radio stations. If
> Congress writes this into law, it will clear the way for hundreds -- if
> not thousands -- of communities to begin broadcasting.
>
> The battle in Congress over Low-power FM licenses is about to begin, 
> and
> Big Media is going to fight back - hard. We're going to need all of 
> your
> support to beat them. Stay tuned to http://www.mediareform.net/lpfm for
> details.
>
> Neither of these developments would have even been thinkable a year 
> ago,
> proving what Free Press has believed all along: when corrupt 
> policymaking
> practices are brought into the daylight for all to see, the public will
> demand action, and regulators and legislators will be forced to 
> respond.
>
> We are making headway.
>
> It's quite possible that the federal appeals court in Philadelphia will
> roll back the all-important newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule,
> thanks to public pressure and a brilliant legal fight led by the Media
> Access Project. Congress is still trying to roll back the rest of the 
> new
> rules, with growing bipartisan support. More and more Americans are
> realizing that we have to fight for better media if we want a better
> country and a better democracy.
>
> Onward,
>
> The Free Press Team
>
> PS: This Friday, February 27th, NOW with Bill Moyers will air an 
> expose on
> the repression of peaceful protest during FTAA negotiations in Miami 
> last
> November, featuring footage collected by Independent Media Centers 
> across
> the country.
>
> P.P.S.: Stay up to date on news relating to media reform with our free
> daily headline service. Sign up at
> http://www.mediareform.net/news/deliveries.php. Give it a try; both
> subscribing and unsubscribing are easy.
>
> -----
> A brief history of Low Power FM:
>
> In 1999, media activists convinced the FCC of the need for low power FM
> broadcasting: 10 to 100 watt, nonprofit neighborhood radio stations 
> with a
> reach of only a few miles. No sooner was a nationwide service 
> implemented
> than large commercial interests used their massive lobbying power to 
> place
> limitations on it, claiming that low power FM transmissions would 
> result
> in an unremitting "ocean of interference" with existing stations.
>
> Industry's efforts, spearheaded by the National Association of
> Broadcasters, culminated in the successful passage of the Radio
> Preservation Act of 2000. Severe restrictions on where low power 
> stations
> could exist on the dial ensured that community broadcasters would exist
> only in the most remote of rural locales. It also demanded an official
> study on potential interference issues, economic impact assessments, 
> and a
> collection of public comment with a full FCC report to Congress - all
> amounting to a disingenuous stall tactic.
>
> The Congressionally-mandated study was completed earlier last year. It
> unequivocally found the NAB's claims of interference to be bogus. 
> Public
> interest groups including Free Press commissioned additional research 
> to
> defend the report and to file comments with the FCC reiterating its
> findings. On Friday, February 20, these efforts paid off when the FCC
> released its recommendations to Congress, agreeing  with public 
> interest
> advocates that industry claims of interference were patently false. 
> They
> called for the lifting of the stringent industry-sponsored 
> restrictions on
> low power broadcasting.
>
> Now it is up to Congress to act on the FCC's recommendations. This will
> clear the way for hundreds - if not thousands - of communities to begin
> broadcasting locally-originated content. While the fight in Congress
> remains, thanks to public outcry over the FCC's actions last summer, 
> many
> in Congress are eager to pass legislation that represents a positive 
> step
> towards encouraging localism and diversity on our airwaves.
>
> Free Press
> 866-666-1533
> www.mediareform.net
> info at mediareform.net
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>



________________________________________
Save lives -- bring the troops home now!




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