Press Release
Virginia Tells FCC to Curb Media Consolidation
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
NORFOLK, Va. -- More than 250 people came out to Old Dominion University on Thursday night for a "Town Meeting on the Future of the Media," voicing their concerns about media consolidation to Federal Communications Commissioner Michael J. Copps.
"We need to include the public in our process instead of trying to exclude them," Copps told the audience at the Mills Godwin Center. "These issues deserve to be discussed in every community, just as we are doing this evening in Norfolk, because they are going to affect every community. To get it right, we need to ask the hard questions and do some credible research so the courts can have confidence in our actions and so that the people's interest can be upheld and put where it belongs -- at the head of the line."
The event featured panel discussions with community leaders, veteran broadcasters, academic experts and local activists on how increasing concentration of media ownership affects local news and information in Hampton Roads, followed by an open microphone session. The crowd lined up for nearly three hours to offer public testimony on how the media are serving the area.
Gregory Williams of Hampton, Va., kicked off the public testimony by sharing his concerns about the possibility that the FCC will further weaken media ownership regulations. "My fear would be that as more local stations become geographically and culturally distant from my community in terms of management decisions on content and format," he said, "my local news could become even less relevant and informative than it is today, perhaps even espousing the agendas of powerful owners with no real connection to or knowledge of my community."
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein was unable to attend the hearing because of an unexpected family obligation, but he was represented at the event by legal adviser Rudy Brioche. Copps, Brioche and Jordan Goldstein, Copps' senior legal adviser, listened attentively as dozens of concerned citizens each offered two minutes of testimony. All testimony was recorded and will be submitted to the FCC and Hampton Roads' congressional delegation.
"Each day I have the ability to choose from hundreds of products that don't really matter, dozens of toilet paper brands and scores of toothpastes," testified Maurna Ruth Snider of Virginia Beach. "Where I have a limited choice is of the things that really matter most, information and media coverage that pertain to my community, my city, and me as a citizen and voter. Please do not allow my choices to be limited further by weakening the ownership rules."
The Norfolk meeting was presented by Free Press in partnership with Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, Community Capacity Builders, Equality Virginia, Hampton Roads Independent Media Coalition, League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads, League of Women Voters of Virginia, Naro Expanded Cinema, Public Policy Virginia, Tidewater for Democracy, Tidewater Peace Alliance, Tidewater Sowers of Justice, Urban League of Hampton Roads, Virginia AFL-CIO, Virginia National Organization for Women, and Virginia Organizing Project.
"The people of Hampton Roads are very concerned about what's happening to their media," said Craig Aaron, communications director of Free Press, "Speaker after speaker made it clear that they want policies that encourage more diverse, independent and local viewpoints in print and on the air. In the months ahead, hopefully all of the FCC commissioners will participate in events like this one, so that average citizens can make their voices heard in these crucial policy decisions."
Free Press previously helped organize town meetings in Portland, Ore; Albuquerque, N.M.; Dearborn, Mich.; St. Paul, Minn.; and Iowa City, Iowa. The next Town Meeting on the Future of Media is planned for Tempe, Ariz., later this spring.
"I believe that if we roll up our sleeves," Copps told the crowd, "all of us -- workers, artists, elected officials, regulators, consumers, citizens everywhere -- can settle this issue of who is going to control our media and for what purposes, and we can settle it in favor of airwaves of, by and for the people of this great country."
Click here to read more about the Town Meeting on the Future of Media.
"We need to include the public in our process instead of trying to exclude them," Copps told the audience at the Mills Godwin Center. "These issues deserve to be discussed in every community, just as we are doing this evening in Norfolk, because they are going to affect every community. To get it right, we need to ask the hard questions and do some credible research so the courts can have confidence in our actions and so that the people's interest can be upheld and put where it belongs -- at the head of the line."
The event featured panel discussions with community leaders, veteran broadcasters, academic experts and local activists on how increasing concentration of media ownership affects local news and information in Hampton Roads, followed by an open microphone session. The crowd lined up for nearly three hours to offer public testimony on how the media are serving the area.
Gregory Williams of Hampton, Va., kicked off the public testimony by sharing his concerns about the possibility that the FCC will further weaken media ownership regulations. "My fear would be that as more local stations become geographically and culturally distant from my community in terms of management decisions on content and format," he said, "my local news could become even less relevant and informative than it is today, perhaps even espousing the agendas of powerful owners with no real connection to or knowledge of my community."
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein was unable to attend the hearing because of an unexpected family obligation, but he was represented at the event by legal adviser Rudy Brioche. Copps, Brioche and Jordan Goldstein, Copps' senior legal adviser, listened attentively as dozens of concerned citizens each offered two minutes of testimony. All testimony was recorded and will be submitted to the FCC and Hampton Roads' congressional delegation.
"Each day I have the ability to choose from hundreds of products that don't really matter, dozens of toilet paper brands and scores of toothpastes," testified Maurna Ruth Snider of Virginia Beach. "Where I have a limited choice is of the things that really matter most, information and media coverage that pertain to my community, my city, and me as a citizen and voter. Please do not allow my choices to be limited further by weakening the ownership rules."
The Norfolk meeting was presented by Free Press in partnership with Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, Community Capacity Builders, Equality Virginia, Hampton Roads Independent Media Coalition, League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads, League of Women Voters of Virginia, Naro Expanded Cinema, Public Policy Virginia, Tidewater for Democracy, Tidewater Peace Alliance, Tidewater Sowers of Justice, Urban League of Hampton Roads, Virginia AFL-CIO, Virginia National Organization for Women, and Virginia Organizing Project.
"The people of Hampton Roads are very concerned about what's happening to their media," said Craig Aaron, communications director of Free Press, "Speaker after speaker made it clear that they want policies that encourage more diverse, independent and local viewpoints in print and on the air. In the months ahead, hopefully all of the FCC commissioners will participate in events like this one, so that average citizens can make their voices heard in these crucial policy decisions."
Free Press previously helped organize town meetings in Portland, Ore; Albuquerque, N.M.; Dearborn, Mich.; St. Paul, Minn.; and Iowa City, Iowa. The next Town Meeting on the Future of Media is planned for Tempe, Ariz., later this spring.
"I believe that if we roll up our sleeves," Copps told the crowd, "all of us -- workers, artists, elected officials, regulators, consumers, citizens everywhere -- can settle this issue of who is going to control our media and for what purposes, and we can settle it in favor of airwaves of, by and for the people of this great country."
Click here to read more about the Town Meeting on the Future of Media.
