From Harrisburg to Columbus ... Despite the NAB

The FCC held one of its six “official” hearings on media ownership yesterday in Harrisburg, PA. Despite little public notice, 300 people attended and 150 spoke for over 5 hours.

A summary and links are below, but first, I have to add how surprised I was to do a Technorati Search on “FCC, Harrisburg” and find a paltry few blog posts on the hearing, much less the FCC ownership proceedings. Promoting these events and framing the debate is entirely in our hands! We have got to do better.

We must do better because big media wants to silence us. The NAB asked the FCC to limit public comment to those made only by people who live in the market area in which the hearing was held. Fortunately, the FCC did not listen. HearUsNow.org has a summary of the request and copy of the NAB letter which reads, with stunning contradiction:

We, of course, want hearings that reflect the complete and full viewpoint of America. One way to improve the dialogue and ensure all Americans have the opportunity to provide their viewpoints would be to have all individuals wanting to provide their personal opinions to the Commission identify the city or town where they reside. Making this simple procedure a standard part of these hearings will enhance the record of the Commission, and will also help ensure that the Commissioners hear from viewers and listeners who actually receive service from stations in the local markets where the hearings are being conducted. Our broadcasters who live and reside in local communities would embrace this wholeheartedly.

FreePress.net, an organizer of the Columbus forum, issued a reply:

"There are 210 television markets in the United States — and the FCC has promised to hold public hearings in just six of them," said Craig Aaron, communications director of Free Press. "Yet the broadcasters' lobby is shocked and dismayed that some people might care enough about their local media to take a day off work, get up at dawn, and drive four or five hours for two minutes at the mic during a public hearing. And — here's the real shocker — they're not even being paid to be there."

And Hannah Sasserman made a nice point on her blog:

“These aren’t the localism hearings — Chairman Powell started to organize those, and fell off around the same time as his Commission started researching the drastic decline in diverse radio station ownership. These are official hearings meant to impact Docket 06-121 — also known as the Quadrennial Review of the Media Ownership Rules . Whether you are from Honolulu or Harrisburg, the facts and anecdotes you offer from your life and your local community are the pieces the FCC is obligated to consider when they decide whether or not to deregulate the media. Every story is valid. ”

So what happened in Harrisburg? Check out coverage in Broadcasting and Cable:

While, the vast majority of the first open mike commenters were broadcasters and charity group heads praising the industry, on the other side was a woman who identified herself as the daughter of former FCC commissioner Clifford Durr. She said that the communications business was a mess and that competition was not the best way to insure the best broadcast service. Clifford Durr was a commissioner appointed by Franklin Roosevelt, who was also concerned about media consolidation.

The latter part of the hearing was dominated by consolidation critics, including one woman identifying herself as a former broadcaster and now a screenwriter, said that she would not vote for a presidential candidate unless he pledged to lower ownership rules . " Please, inform your friends that you own the license," she said.

One self-described media activist said he had gotten up at 5 a.m. to drive to the hearing and was missing a day of work. He said that most of the parade of pro-broadcasting comments had come from people "on the payroll" of big media.

Also see Radio Online, Patriot News and, of course, StopBigMedia.com

Tags: FCC, FCC Hearings, Media Reform, Columbus,