Press Release
Adelstein Warns of Congressional Veto
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
MEMPHIS -- FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein tonight told the thousands of people gathered at the National Conference for Media Reform to bury any attempts by the FCC to roll back media ownership rules "six feet deep."
Commissioner Adelstein will talk about media consolidation and Net Neutrality and answer questions at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning at a panel in the ballroom of the Memphis Cook Convention Center.
The text of Commissioner Adelstein's remarks follows:
Thank you all so much. I really don't deserve an ovation like that for just doing my job. But it sure feels good. All I have to remember is that I work for you -- the American people -- NOT the giant media companies I regulate. That seems like a simple concept -- public officials represent the public's interest -- but that's "fuzzy math" in Washington.
It's convenient for public officials to forget when they're constantly pressured by these massive, powerful conglomerates. These giants have the resources to buy their own think tanks. They amass an army of hired guns to fire out an endless litany of woe to make us think they are the ones who need help. But we have the secret weapons that took them by surprise. My friends, we have the American people on our side -- and we have the truth on our side.
And the truth must win because our children's future and our democracy depend on it. I know that we can prevail because we've already won so much. Even when far fewer of us were focused on this fight, we won one of the few victories of the people over the powerful in recent memory.
We won that historic victory in federal court. We stopped the most politically fearsome industry in America, dead in its tracks. Along the way, we won an incredible bipartisan vote in the Senate, 55-40, to veto everything Michael Powell tried to do to roll back the rules. And we had the votes in the House to kill the rules, but Tom Delay and the old House leadership prevented it from ever coming to a vote.
That congressional veto procedure, known as a "resolution of disapproval," was a vestige of Newt Gingrich's Contract with America. It was designed to allow the Republican Congress to quickly repeal Clinton regulations. But the winds of change have now swept through Washington. A great hero to this movement, Congressman Ed Markey, who joins us tomorrow, will chair the House Telecommunications Subcommittee. Bernie Sanders, such an outspoken advocate for the public interest who is also joining us, got a promotion to the Senate. And there is no more Tom Delay to delay a vote.
This time, in 2007, if the FCC passes an Order to increase media consolidation, there's nothing to stop Congress from vetoing it. If it comes to a vote on the Hill, we'll see bipartisan support that's been bottled up come pouring out. Little did Newt know that he would be handing the people in this room a club to beat back media concentration!
If a bad Order comes out of the FCC, let's not just bury it. Let's bury it six feet deep! When the FCC goes too far in rolling back media ownership limits, if you demand it, Congress can send it right to the dumpster of history where it belongs!
Even better, let's keep bad rules from coming out in the first place. We have a new Commission, one that has seen the damage you can do to policies that neglect the people we're supposed to serve. You need to send the message loud and clear: if the FCC dramatically rolls back the media ownership protections, it will get vetoed by Congress. So don't even bother trying.
Even as we fight media consolidation, we need to battle the ever-increasing commercialization of our media. We need to fight thinly disguised payola fueling homogenized corporate music that leaves no room for local and independent artists; we need to fight video news releases masquerading as news, with PR agents pushing agendas that squeeze out real news coverage and local community concerns; we need to fight product placements turning news and entertainment shows alike into undisclosed commercials; and we need to fight rapacious advertisers preying on the unsuspecting minds of our young children.
Let's reclaim the media. We need to say no to Payola, no to VNRs, no to product placements, and no to interactive advertising targeting our kids. And we need to go on the offense. Let's promote the true American spirit of democracy in the media and on the Web.
We've got to open our airwaves to low-power FM stations and minority voices -- we've got to restore public interest obligations on broadcasters as they enter the digital age -- we've got to maintain community access to viable PEG channels -- we've got to make broadband affordable and accessible to everyone -- even if that means building municipal broadband systems -- and we've got to keep the Internet open.
We're already on the march to save the Internet. With your help on the AT&T merger, we scored a big victory for net neutrality -- or, should I say, equal access. We shattered the falsehood that it couldn't be done, that it couldn't be defined. Well, Mike Copps and I, with input from Free Press and the entire media reform movement, found the right words. And so it is written.
We can't let what happened to our media happen to the Internet. We can't afford to let it become controlled by a few gatekeepers seeking to maximize their profits in the service of advertisers. We need to keep the Internet of the people, by the people and for the people.
But much more work remains ahead. We tried for more, but could only get you just two years to try to make equal access permanent. We think you know what to do with that time. While the Internet is still free, nobody knows how to use it better than us to strategize, organize and mobilize. Let's use the power of the Internet to keep the promise of the Internet alive!
We hear a lot of talk out of Washington about spreading freedom and democracy around the world. How about uplifting the quality of our own freedom and democracy right here at home?
We have to secure our legacy as Americans - the free flow of ideas and information that was at the very foundation of our country. We need to carry that fight from our media to the Internet. You've already won some key early skirmishes. Now you're the battle-hardened veterans about to achieve even bigger victories. Generations to come will celebrate what you achieved.
From the heart of one patriot to a room full of patriots, I salute you all!
Commissioner Adelstein will talk about media consolidation and Net Neutrality and answer questions at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning at a panel in the ballroom of the Memphis Cook Convention Center.
The text of Commissioner Adelstein's remarks follows:
Thank you all so much. I really don't deserve an ovation like that for just doing my job. But it sure feels good. All I have to remember is that I work for you -- the American people -- NOT the giant media companies I regulate. That seems like a simple concept -- public officials represent the public's interest -- but that's "fuzzy math" in Washington.
It's convenient for public officials to forget when they're constantly pressured by these massive, powerful conglomerates. These giants have the resources to buy their own think tanks. They amass an army of hired guns to fire out an endless litany of woe to make us think they are the ones who need help. But we have the secret weapons that took them by surprise. My friends, we have the American people on our side -- and we have the truth on our side.
And the truth must win because our children's future and our democracy depend on it. I know that we can prevail because we've already won so much. Even when far fewer of us were focused on this fight, we won one of the few victories of the people over the powerful in recent memory.
We won that historic victory in federal court. We stopped the most politically fearsome industry in America, dead in its tracks. Along the way, we won an incredible bipartisan vote in the Senate, 55-40, to veto everything Michael Powell tried to do to roll back the rules. And we had the votes in the House to kill the rules, but Tom Delay and the old House leadership prevented it from ever coming to a vote.
That congressional veto procedure, known as a "resolution of disapproval," was a vestige of Newt Gingrich's Contract with America. It was designed to allow the Republican Congress to quickly repeal Clinton regulations. But the winds of change have now swept through Washington. A great hero to this movement, Congressman Ed Markey, who joins us tomorrow, will chair the House Telecommunications Subcommittee. Bernie Sanders, such an outspoken advocate for the public interest who is also joining us, got a promotion to the Senate. And there is no more Tom Delay to delay a vote.
This time, in 2007, if the FCC passes an Order to increase media consolidation, there's nothing to stop Congress from vetoing it. If it comes to a vote on the Hill, we'll see bipartisan support that's been bottled up come pouring out. Little did Newt know that he would be handing the people in this room a club to beat back media concentration!
If a bad Order comes out of the FCC, let's not just bury it. Let's bury it six feet deep! When the FCC goes too far in rolling back media ownership limits, if you demand it, Congress can send it right to the dumpster of history where it belongs!
Even better, let's keep bad rules from coming out in the first place. We have a new Commission, one that has seen the damage you can do to policies that neglect the people we're supposed to serve. You need to send the message loud and clear: if the FCC dramatically rolls back the media ownership protections, it will get vetoed by Congress. So don't even bother trying.
Even as we fight media consolidation, we need to battle the ever-increasing commercialization of our media. We need to fight thinly disguised payola fueling homogenized corporate music that leaves no room for local and independent artists; we need to fight video news releases masquerading as news, with PR agents pushing agendas that squeeze out real news coverage and local community concerns; we need to fight product placements turning news and entertainment shows alike into undisclosed commercials; and we need to fight rapacious advertisers preying on the unsuspecting minds of our young children.
Let's reclaim the media. We need to say no to Payola, no to VNRs, no to product placements, and no to interactive advertising targeting our kids. And we need to go on the offense. Let's promote the true American spirit of democracy in the media and on the Web.
We've got to open our airwaves to low-power FM stations and minority voices -- we've got to restore public interest obligations on broadcasters as they enter the digital age -- we've got to maintain community access to viable PEG channels -- we've got to make broadband affordable and accessible to everyone -- even if that means building municipal broadband systems -- and we've got to keep the Internet open.
We're already on the march to save the Internet. With your help on the AT&T merger, we scored a big victory for net neutrality -- or, should I say, equal access. We shattered the falsehood that it couldn't be done, that it couldn't be defined. Well, Mike Copps and I, with input from Free Press and the entire media reform movement, found the right words. And so it is written.
We can't let what happened to our media happen to the Internet. We can't afford to let it become controlled by a few gatekeepers seeking to maximize their profits in the service of advertisers. We need to keep the Internet of the people, by the people and for the people.
But much more work remains ahead. We tried for more, but could only get you just two years to try to make equal access permanent. We think you know what to do with that time. While the Internet is still free, nobody knows how to use it better than us to strategize, organize and mobilize. Let's use the power of the Internet to keep the promise of the Internet alive!
We hear a lot of talk out of Washington about spreading freedom and democracy around the world. How about uplifting the quality of our own freedom and democracy right here at home?
We have to secure our legacy as Americans - the free flow of ideas and information that was at the very foundation of our country. We need to carry that fight from our media to the Internet. You've already won some key early skirmishes. Now you're the battle-hardened veterans about to achieve even bigger victories. Generations to come will celebrate what you achieved.
From the heart of one patriot to a room full of patriots, I salute you all!
