FCC Hearing on Media Ownership - Be Heard! October 27, 2006

What's wrong with this picture?

There's no diversity in TV ownership!
Clear Channel spreads hate in the Bay Area!
There's a monopoly in Bay Area print!

The FCC needs to hear from you.
Come to the only FCC hearing scheduled in the Bay Area.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
THERE'S NO DIVERSITY IN TV OWNERSHIP!

* FACT ONE: Women comprise 51% of the entire U.S. population, but own less than 5% of all TV stations in the U.S.

* FACT TWO: People of color comprise 33 % of the entire U.S. population, but own about 3% percent of all TV stations in the U.S.

* FACT THREE: Blacks comprise 13% of the entire U.S. population but own about 1% percent of all TV stations in the U.S. About 91% of Black households are NOT reached by any Black-owned TV station.

* FACT FOUR: Since 1998, the number of TV stations increased by approximately 12%, but the number of Black-owned stations decreased by 30%.

WILL THE FCC CONTINUE TO STIFLE DIVERSITY?
The FCC needs to hear from you!

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
CLEAR CHANNEL SPREADS HATE IN THE BAY AREA!

* FACT ONE: In 1996, before radio deregulation, the largest radio owners controlled fewer than 65 stations in the United States. Today Clear Channel owns over 1,200 stations!

* FACT TWO: Current FCC rules limit corporate ownership to 8 radio stations in any one market. Clear Channel exploited a loophole in this rule and owns 11 radio stations in the Bay Area market (San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland).

* FACT THREE: Clear Channel owns 910AM KNEW, a right-wing talk station notorious for its sensational content. The Youth Media Council and Media Alliance monitored KNEW and found numerous incidents of hateful speech. For example, talk hosts used the word ‘vermin’ to refer to undocumented immigrants more than 43 times in one 40-minute segment.

* FACT FOUR: In 2005, KNEW aired comments encouraging a terrorist attack on San Francisco.

* FACT FIVE: Last year, the FCC renewed Clear Channel’s radio licenses in California for another eight years.

* FACT SIX: The FCC now wants to remove existing ownership limits and allow companies like Clear Channel to own even more radio stations in the Bay Area.

SHOULD THE FCC ALLOW CLEAR CHANNEL TO GET EVEN BIGGER?
The FCC needs to hear from you!

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
THERE'S A MONOPOLY IN PRINT!

* FACT ONE: One company (Dean Singleton‘s MediaNews) now controls more than 40 daily and weekly newspapers in Northern California—from Monterey to Marin--including the San Jose Mercury News, the Oakland Tribune, the Contra Costa Times, the Monterey Herald, the Marin Independent Journal. In other words, every major daily except for the SF Chron, the Examiner, and the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

* FACT TWO: The SF Chron is a partner of MediaNews in its Bay Area merger. How do you spell monopoly?

* FACT THREE: The FCC wants to allow Dean Singleton to buy local radio and TV stations.

WILL THE FCC ALLOW THE MEDIANEWS MONOPOLY TO GET EVEN BIGGER?
The FCC needs to hear from you!

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
THE FCC HAS SERVED SPECIAL INTERESTS, NOT THE PUBLIC INTEREST

* FACT ONE: The FCC regulates communications [such as] telephones, television, radio, newspapers, wire, cable, satellite, and the Internet… “in the public interest.”

* FACT TWO: In the 1980s the FCC dissolved a fairness doctrine and weakened public interest standards, allowing the corporate "free market" to ensure diversity and balance. Recent studies show that diversity and balance have been critically threatened by FCC deregulation.

* FACT THREE: In 2003, the FCC received over three million public comments, of which well over 99 percent opposed further media consolidation. And yet the FCC ignored the clear voice of the public! It took Congress and a court challenge to get the FCC to back down.

* FACT FOUR: In 2004, the FCC commissioned a study to protect the interests of its friends in the corporate media lobby. The FCC suppressed its own study because it revealed that locally owned stations produced more local news than those owned by media giants.

* FACT FIVE: Once again, the FCC is considering allowing Big Media companies to become even bigger. There is only one hearing scheduled for the Bay Area: October 27th in Oakland.

SHOULD THE FCC SERVE CORPORATIONS OR THE PUBLIC?
The FCC needs to hear from you!

1001 Broadway at 10th St (BART Oakland 12th St)

Official Website: http://www.media-alliance.org/article.php?story=20061016230044334