Press Release
FCC to Address Media Diversity at Chicago Hearing
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
CHICAGO -- The Federal Communications Commission will hold its fifth official media ownership hearing on Sept. 20 at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters on Chicago's South Side. The hearing will offer Chicago residents a rare opportunity to voice concerns to all five FCC commissioners about the nation's lack of diverse media owners.
"Media ownership should look like America, but instead we have too few, owning too much at the expense of too many," said Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. "It's time to reverse the poor policy decisions that have shut out the public from our airwaves. We are honored that the FCC chose to hold this hearing at Rainbow PUSH and welcome all of Chicago's diverse communities to join us in speaking out at this important event."
"Without the First Amendment, and the ability to bring vivid images into the living rooms of America, there would be no civil rights movement," said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. "But today's civil rights movement also depends on the existence of media that is fully representative of the communities that it serves. Unfortunately, the struggle for a media system that truly reflects our nation's diversity remains an elusive goal."
Chicago has one of the lowest levels of minority ownership among markets of its size and diversity. Research conducted by Free Press, the national media reform group, found that racial and ethnic minorities make up nearly two-thirds of Chicago's population but own only 5 percent of the city's full-power commercial radio and TV stations. Despite comprising half of the population, women own just 6 percent of the city's radio and TV stations.
"WVON is the only African-American-owned radio station in the third-largest market in America and, until last year, operated on a shared frequency," said Melody Spann-Cooper, president of WVON. "We stand as the best example of why the FCC must look at alternatives that will increase minority participation and level the playing field. It is the only way to ensure that the broadcast industry becomes more inclusive and better reflects the true diversity of our country."
The lack of minority and female owners is reflected in local news coverage. A recent study by the Media Management Center at Northwestern University found that "for every non-white person who is heard in a story, there are three white people" and "people who are white, male and official dominate news about politics." Women are outnumbered by men on the local news by 2-to-1.
"The voices of Latinos, youth, women and other groups are being usurped by the special interests of media companies that produce programming that is all too often homophobic, misogynistic, anti-immigrant and absent the diversity found in our communities," said Silvia Rivera, general manager of Radio Arte 90.5 FM. "Radio Arte rejects any additional media consolidation and challenges the FCC to adopt rules that open up ownership opportunities for Chicago's marginalized groups."
At the national level, the low number of female and minority owners is equally alarming. People of color make up 33 percent of the entire U.S. population, yet own 7.2 percent of all full-power radio and TV stations. While women comprise 51 percent of the entire U.S. population, they own less than 6 percent of full-power commercial radio and TV stations.
"The disgraceful lack of media diversity is the direct result of policies that have allowed big companies to swallow up local media outlets in Chicago and across the country," said S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press and author of two landmark media ownership studies -- Out of the Picture and Off the Dial. "It's time for the FCC to roll back consolidation and get more local and diverse voices on the air."
A broad and diverse range of local and national groups is urging its members to attend the hearing and testify about the impacts of media consolidation. They include the Benton Foundation, Chicago Access Network Television, Chicago Media Action, Chicago Urban League, Chicago Westside NAACP, Children Now, Common Cause, Communications Workers of America, Community Media Workshop, Community Renewal Society, Consumers Union, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Females United For Action, Free Press, Future of Music Coalition, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Illinois Campus Compact, Illinois PIRG, Latino Council on the Media, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association, Midwest Gap Enterprises, Prometheus Radio Project, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Radio-Television Broadcast Engineers Union I.B.E.W Local 1212, South Austin Coalition, The Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral Health Center Inc., The Media and Democracy Coalition, The Newspaper Guild-CWA, United Church of Christ, Office of Communication Inc., We The People Media/Residents' Journal, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and WRTE Radio Arte.
For more information, visit www.StopBigMedia.com.
"Media ownership should look like America, but instead we have too few, owning too much at the expense of too many," said Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. "It's time to reverse the poor policy decisions that have shut out the public from our airwaves. We are honored that the FCC chose to hold this hearing at Rainbow PUSH and welcome all of Chicago's diverse communities to join us in speaking out at this important event."
"Without the First Amendment, and the ability to bring vivid images into the living rooms of America, there would be no civil rights movement," said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. "But today's civil rights movement also depends on the existence of media that is fully representative of the communities that it serves. Unfortunately, the struggle for a media system that truly reflects our nation's diversity remains an elusive goal."
Chicago has one of the lowest levels of minority ownership among markets of its size and diversity. Research conducted by Free Press, the national media reform group, found that racial and ethnic minorities make up nearly two-thirds of Chicago's population but own only 5 percent of the city's full-power commercial radio and TV stations. Despite comprising half of the population, women own just 6 percent of the city's radio and TV stations.
"WVON is the only African-American-owned radio station in the third-largest market in America and, until last year, operated on a shared frequency," said Melody Spann-Cooper, president of WVON. "We stand as the best example of why the FCC must look at alternatives that will increase minority participation and level the playing field. It is the only way to ensure that the broadcast industry becomes more inclusive and better reflects the true diversity of our country."
The lack of minority and female owners is reflected in local news coverage. A recent study by the Media Management Center at Northwestern University found that "for every non-white person who is heard in a story, there are three white people" and "people who are white, male and official dominate news about politics." Women are outnumbered by men on the local news by 2-to-1.
"The voices of Latinos, youth, women and other groups are being usurped by the special interests of media companies that produce programming that is all too often homophobic, misogynistic, anti-immigrant and absent the diversity found in our communities," said Silvia Rivera, general manager of Radio Arte 90.5 FM. "Radio Arte rejects any additional media consolidation and challenges the FCC to adopt rules that open up ownership opportunities for Chicago's marginalized groups."
At the national level, the low number of female and minority owners is equally alarming. People of color make up 33 percent of the entire U.S. population, yet own 7.2 percent of all full-power radio and TV stations. While women comprise 51 percent of the entire U.S. population, they own less than 6 percent of full-power commercial radio and TV stations.
"The disgraceful lack of media diversity is the direct result of policies that have allowed big companies to swallow up local media outlets in Chicago and across the country," said S. Derek Turner, research director of Free Press and author of two landmark media ownership studies -- Out of the Picture and Off the Dial. "It's time for the FCC to roll back consolidation and get more local and diverse voices on the air."
A broad and diverse range of local and national groups is urging its members to attend the hearing and testify about the impacts of media consolidation. They include the Benton Foundation, Chicago Access Network Television, Chicago Media Action, Chicago Urban League, Chicago Westside NAACP, Children Now, Common Cause, Communications Workers of America, Community Media Workshop, Community Renewal Society, Consumers Union, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Females United For Action, Free Press, Future of Music Coalition, Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, Illinois Campus Compact, Illinois PIRG, Latino Council on the Media, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association, Midwest Gap Enterprises, Prometheus Radio Project, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Radio-Television Broadcast Engineers Union I.B.E.W Local 1212, South Austin Coalition, The Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral Health Center Inc., The Media and Democracy Coalition, The Newspaper Guild-CWA, United Church of Christ, Office of Communication Inc., We The People Media/Residents' Journal, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and WRTE Radio Arte.
For more information, visit www.StopBigMedia.com.
