NIGHTLINE: The Public Interest and the Public Airwaves

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Importance: Normal
> Sensitivity:
> To: farber () cis upenn edu, faulhabe () wharton upenn edu
> Subject: Fw: NIGHTLINE: The Public Interest and the Public Airwaves
> X-Mailer: Lotus Notes Release 6.0 September 26, 2002
> From: Peter G Capek <capek () us ibm com>
>
>
>
>
> It's good to see this issue finally getting some air time on non-NPR 
> venues.    Actually, there was some coverage in the NY Times, too, to be fair.
>
> Peter G. Capek
> IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
> Yorktown Heights, NY   10598-0218
> (+1 914) 945-1250       IBM Tieline: 8-862-1250            Fax:  X 4426
> ---------------------- Forwarded by Peter G Capek/Watson/IBM on 05/28/2003 
> 06:13 PM ---------------------------
>
> Please respond to listeditor () abcnews go com
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> To:        capek () ieee org
> cc:
> Subject:        NIGHTLINE: The Public Interest and the Public Airwaves
>
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>
> Nightline Daily E-Mail
> May 28
>
> TONIGHT'S FOCUS: With little to no public debate, the Federal 
> Communications Commission is poised to approve a massive rewriting of the 
> rules governing ownership of television stations and other media.  What's 
> at stake? Should you be worried? A lot of people, from the National Rifle 
> Association to the National Organization for Women, think you should be 
> concerned. Very concerned.
>
> Have you noticed that radio stations sound more and more alike these days? 
> They seem to be operating from the same song lists. Well, that's because 
> many of them are. Seven years ago the FCC loosened the restrictions on the 
> number of radio stations that a corporation may own, and today there are 
> 30% fewer radio station owners. One such owner, Clear Channel, grew from 
> 43 stations, to nearly 1200 stations in that time. Fewer independently 
> owned radio stations = more homogenous sounding radio.
>
> So what? You can always buy CDs, right? Well, the problem is even more 
> troubling to critics than just artistic censorship, which is troubling 
> enough on its own.  Diversity of opinions, competition and the news 
> marketplace are elements of our democracy that we sometimes take for 
> granted. Without such freedom of ideas, what will we lose? Its hard to say 
> what will happen, but many people are worried, including some strange 
> bedfellows, such as the National Rifle Association and the National 
> Organization for Women.
>
> The FCC is likely to approve changes next week for television that are 
> similar to the ones it approved six years ago for radio. These changes 
> would lift many of the restrictions on ownership of media, including local 
> television stations, newspapers, cable and broadcast networks. A single 
> corporate owner, currently limited in the number of media outlets it can 
> own in a single market, will be freed to buy more.   Supporters of these 
> changes — including the Disney Corporation, which owns ABC News — argue 
> that the looser regulations will benefit both stockholders of media 
> companies, as well as their consumers.  They argue that such measures will 
> allow smaller media organizations to stay afloat during a harsh economic 
> climate.
>
> ABC's Lisa Stark will look at the FCC's proposed changes and the potential 
> impacts it may have on communities and individuals. She'll describe one 
> community in North Dakota, where the radio stations are nearly all owned 
> by the same corporation and the old adage "in the event of an emergency, 
> tune to your local radio station," was an empty promise.
>
> Ted Koppel will talk with FCC Chairman Michael Powell about the proposed 
> changes.
>
> We hope you'll join us.
>
> Sara Just and the Nightline Staff
> ABCNEWS Washington bureau
>
>
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