from www.freepress.net
Today the FCC proposed a new set of rules that would unleash a wave of media consolidation across the country.
If the agency’s proposal sounds familiar, that’s because it’s nearly identical to rules the FCC proposed during the Bush administration:
… those rules were so bad that 99 percent of the public comments to the FCC opposed them.
… those rules were so bad that a bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to overturn them.
… those rules were so bad that a federal appeals court threw them out this summer.
The rules didn’t get any better over time.
By announcing these proposed rules today — while many of you are busy getting ready for the holidays — the FCC is hoping you won’t notice that it’s airing a rerun.
It’s an outrage that the FCC announcement is calculated to slide under the radar as Congress and the rest of us take time off. Rules this important shouldn’t be written for corporations. The public must have a voice.
With your contribution, Free Press will hit the ground running in the new year. There’s so much to do:
Free Press will marshal a massive public outcry online and off calling on the FCC to scrap plans to permit more media consolidation in our communities.
Free Press will demand that the FCC hold public hearings on these new rules. If the FCC won’t hold hearings, we’ll organize them ourselves.
Free Press will make 2012 the year the FCC finally takes steps to put more stations in diverse, local hands. A federal court has twice rebuked the FCC for failing to expand ownership opportunities for women and people of color. We can’t wait any longer.
Free Press will stop “covert consolidation” once and for all. The FCC must close loopholes that allow media corporations to combine news operations — and show the same newscast on multiple stations in the same community.
Your involvement is crucial. These proposed rules don’t have to become reality. But we need to speak up to stop them.
If you’re in a position to give, please support Free Press Action Fund’s campaign against media consolidation today.
We’ll put your donation to work right away.
Thank you!
Craig Aaron
President and CEO
Free Press Action Fund