Build a public idea infrastructure

The Dispatch reported today on some creative urban design ideas developed by OSU students. These include:

• Seasonal beach: Greg Grippa suggested setting up a sandy retreat at North Bank Park for a month every summer. Boat rentals and a pool could accompany the beach.

• Bus alerts: COTA already posts live information on the Internet about where buses are, but it also could send text messages to let riders know how soon the bus will arrive, Annie Abell said.

• Car-free N. High Street: It's bolder than the mayor's streetcar proposal, but cities such as Denver have taken major shopping districts and labeled them bus-, bicycle- and pedestrian-only. Brown said that pedestrian shoppers might enjoy it, but it might give traffic engineers nightmares.

• Recycle art: Betsy Pandora recommended adding a 1-cent tax for beverage containers. Drinkers could get the cash back when they recycle or choose to donate the money to fund public art.

Professor Kyle Ezell says he is interested in creating a Civic Innovation Lab like Cleveland has. Kind of like angel investing for public spirited pursuits.

Despite all the tools at our disposal we don't yet seem to be able to cultivate innovation in any deliberate way. The Vision 2012 process for the City bond initiative was stimulating and generated tremendous public input. But then it was taken over by officialdom, distilled into general goals that already had political currency, and the original ideas now sit statically on the web site. Where are the social networks, the working groups, the seed grants? At least a wiki for refining the ideas?

Maybe institutional deliberateness and innovation are incompatible. Innovations are supposed to bust open institutions, not let them wear the term like a fashionable shirt. Many conversations are happening in the civic sector that will lead to innovations. But it would be nice to build some public idea infrastructure that linked these informal conversations to financial resources and urban planning. There are great ideas on the margins that die before ever getting a chance to grow.

"Big Media is a Threat"

Sentiments such as the one above were common last night as a couple hundred citizens gathered in Columbus to provide testimony at the Future of Media hearing attended by FCC Commissioners Michael Copps, Jonathan Adelstein and Robert McDowell. Hear is bit of what I heard:

Panelists and citizens alike told stories of how minority-owned broadcasting was central to bringing attention to injustices in the community. They lamented how changes in ownership rules and lack of federal oversight on media mergers has decimated the ranks of minority broadcasters and, as a result, erased issues and communities from public discussion.

Plain-Dealer reporter Connie Shultz told of how she used to work about competition from broadcasters when she es investigating a story. Now she never fears competition but instead, found herself assisting a clueless TV reporter who didn't even know why he was covering a trial on white collar crime. Because of consolidation, broadcaster no longer have the personnel or the interest to do any investigative reporting.

Catherine Turcer from Citizen Action told of studies that showed that in Columbus and Cleveland, during the 2006 elections, that campaign coverage averaged only 1.5 minutes per newscast. Of that 4%, or 3.6 seconds, was dedicated to local news.

Citizens hoping to dialog with station managers found managers hostile to the idea of public input.

Of course, you will not read any of this in the Columbus Dispatch. You can read a nice summary in the Canton Repository. There was plenty of independent coverage of the hearing and as that media becomes available I will link to it from here.

[Update: Free Press posted this article about the hearing.]

And since I am running my own press here, I'll share with you the testimony I prepared and, for the most part, delivered in two minutes:

My airwaves are a $1 trillion dollars profit engine. I want some return on my investment. Instead, I see the following:

I see news anchors and DJs hosting charitable events. Yet I rarely see the work and concerns of hundreds of civic organizations in local media. Instead I see crime, fires, celebrity escapades and stories that look suspiciously of video news releases with the local anchor’s voice pasted over top.

I recently attended a community meeting where I learned that the foreign born population of Central Ohio is equal to the population of Youngstown. One would never know this from commercial media. How can we solve our local challenges if we do not even know our neighbors?

Two TV stations owned by Sinclair broadcasting with only one newsroom and one set of reporters yet taking double the opportunity to editorialize from the east coast without having to engage anyone locally about its content nor offer an opportunity to reply.

I spin my AM radio dial in the evening I hear the same syndicated talk shows on more than one station. Jumping to FM I hear sporting events that also heard on the AM side. And it’s rare when I hear local music instead of what is being pushed by the record or advertising industry.

During recent elections I was bombarded with campaign ads making the most provocative claims and accusations yet neither the ads nor the issues received any sustained or serious coverage on commercial media. How can we cast informed votes if this is what passes for political information?

We have what proposed rule changes would allow everywhere: One company owning the newspaper, television and multiple radio stations, and weekly papers. I do not trust this arrangement. I want my local media to be a check on power, not have the power to elevate or silence an issue because it controls much of the information flow.

Broadcasters say they are giving the people what they want. This is a hollow argument. The entire media industry is dedicated to turning me into a tidy demographic to be delivered, instead of treating me a citizen to be served.

Broadcasters say there are alternatives. But we are falling short there also. We are far from having truly universal and affordable broadband in Ohio, and even we did, the real work of journalism is still being done by the dwindling ranks of professional reporters. The power to create public space on local cable systems is seriously weakened by the FCC’s recent order limiting local regulatory power. And our local Low Power FM licensees, working to bring local voices to the airwaves, have to be on guard against full power predators who want spectrum to give us yet another prepackaged format.

No so-called alternative removes any responsibility from broadcasters. It is time to give the people what they want and what they deserve. Media that treats us as citizens and is worthy of the democracy we claim to practice.

Thank-you.

Technorati Tags: FCC, Media Ownership, Columbus, Media Reform

How to make comments at the FCC hearing

Michel Coconis has posted some instructions on how prepare and present testimony at the hearing. You can read it at the FreePress.org (local organization) site. There are also tips posted on the StopBigMedia site.


Technorati Tags: FCC, Media Ownership, Columbus, Free Press

The Real World Impacts of Media Consolidation

Common Cause has a page of example citizen testimony that reveals the direct impact of media consolidation our communities and nation.

Some examples:

Studies have shown that there are significant disparities in the treatment of African-Americans in local and national news. In addition, African-Americans still face a lack of quality programming in the media focused on their needs, interests and perspectives.I strongly believe that minority owned radio stations provide more minority focused content and a greater focus on the concerns of the minority community.

One of the most insidious byproducts of media consolidation is the practice of "voice-tracking" entire air shifts. Up to 70% of Clear Channel's radio broadcasts are voice-tracked...The end result - no local flavor, no local input, no local jobs, no local coverage and no local connection.

We believe that a station owner who resides in his or her own local community is more likely to understand and respond to local standards than someone making programming decisions from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

a chemical explosion happened a few months ago in Sioux Falls. That information was not captioned. So my wife was babysitting my granddaughter and was completely unaware of what had happened

Technorati Tags: FCC, Media Ownership, Columbus, Common Cause, FCC Hearing

Media Workshops Scheduled in Advance of FCC Hearing

There will be two local workshops on media issues to help citizens understand and prepare for the FCC Forum on March 7. Here is the info:

Learn how media policy affects ownership, content, and the information we need to participate in democracy. Workshops will give you the chance to consider your own hopes for media that meet your community’s needs, and to prepare a two minute testimony to present at the forum. All workshops are free and open to the public.

Download flyer here.

Monday, March 5

6:30 p.m.
Ohio Common Cause Office
50 W. Broad Street, #1705
Contact: Scarlett Bouder,
614-224-2497

Tuesday, March 6
6:30 p.m.
Columbus Metropolitan Area
Church Council
Jefferson Conference Center
65 Jefferson Ave.
Contact: 614-461-7103

Technorati Tags: FCC, Media Ownership, Columbus, FCC Hearing