The airwaves belong to all of us. Broadcasters don’t pay a cent for
their use of this valuable public resource. They are required to do
only one thing in return: help fulfill the news and information needs
of the communities in which they broadcast. But here's where things
get tricky. Just a handful of media corporations own almost all of our
local media outlets. Our TV and radio stations used to be mom-and-pop
operations, but over the years that diverse, locally responsive media
system has been reduced to a few mega conglomerates that control the
vast majority of what we read, see and hear in the media. For decades
these corporations have had a dramatic influence at the Federal
Communications Commission, which has made policy that serves corporate
needs rather than the public interest. There are all sorts of benefits
to a competitive media landscape. The more independent outlets a
community has, the more different viewpoints will be presented on the
air. But what happens when there’s no one to compete with? When one
company owns everything in your town, it can cut staff and not worry
about getting scooped by a competitor. The fewer reporters there are
on the streets, the less journalism there is on the news. The fewer
DJs there are at your local radio station, the more automated
computers and pre-programmed playlists take over. The FCC sets limits
on how much of your local media one company can own. These limits are
designed to encourage stations to compete with one another to provide
quality journalism. To preserve the benefits of competition, the FCC
should not allow one company to own broadcast outlets and the major
daily newspaper in the same town. The FCC should also recognize that
one company controlling multiple stations is the same as one company
owning multiple stations. Our ownership chart reveals exactly who owns
what. It’s time to change what’s wrong with this picture.
