Media Policy Watch

NHMC New Media Policy Funder: The Media and Democracy Fund (MDF)

The media policy and consumer education work that the NHMC advances would not be possible without the monetary support of private foundations and other contributors. In fact, our media policy work began four years ago thanks to the support of The Ford Foundation. The California Community Technology Foundation has also been a strong supporter of our work. We would now like to take this opportunity to thank our most recent media policy funder, The Media and Democracy Fund (MDF). The MDF is a newly formed foundation and donor collaborative in support of media reform and media democracy. The MDF strives to increase philanthropic investment in media policy, and is rooted in the belief that freedom of expression and access to information are necessary elements to a civil society and to basic human rights. Special thanks go to Helen Brunner, MDF Director, for guiding us through the application process and for continuing to provide important advice and support to the NHMC.

Get Informed and Take Action

It is the goal of the NHMC to keep you informed and engaged on important media legislation that impacts the American Latino community. Please become active in these issues! Make sure your voice is heard by contacting your elected Representatives and letting them know where you stand on these important media issues. Elected officials do pay attention to those issues their constituents take the time to write or call them about. The following is a list of those current media issues that the NHMC, with your support, continues to advance for the benefit of the American Latino community.

Issues:

National Conference for Media Reform

As you know, media reform is a very important issue to the Latino community. The current state of minority media ownership is in crisis and the severity of the problem can no longer be brushed aside. American Latinos comprise 15 percent of the U.S. population, yet we own just 15 of the more than 1,300 full-power commercial television stations in the United States. This is just one percent TV ownership and this is unacceptable. Radio ownership also falls short with American Latinos owning just over 300 radio stations out of more than 10,000 representing less than three percent ownership. This level of media ownership inequality is absolutely unacceptable.

Furthermore, the amount of ugly rhetoric against undocumented Latinos on radio, television and the internet seems to be growing in direct proportion to the amount of fear and instability reflected in the media about the tenuous U.S. economy. Minority ownership is directly tied to this issue. When Latinos and other people of color are media owners, there is more localism and an absence of hate speech. Media consolidation has led to syndicated programs, such as Michael Savage, Lou Dobbs and others that do nothing more then dehumanize the Latino community, blaming it for all the ills of society.

We want to encourage all of you to join us at a critical media conference that has been organized by our friends at Free Press. Thousands of activists, media producers, journalists, artists and policymakers will converge at the National Conference for Media Reform June 6-8 in Minneapolis. This important conference is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the changes in technology and policy that are shaping our rapidly changing media system, to assess and share with our allies how Latino communities may benefit or suffer as a result, and to make connections with potential partners who may help us work for the goals we seek.

NHMC is coordinating a panel discussion on Hate Speech in the Media to raise awareness about this insidious problem that is harmful to all Americans. The panelists joining me in this important discussion include John Trasviña, MALDEF President & General Counsel; Mark Potok, Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Project Director; Marilyn Mayo, Anti-Defamation League Director of Right-Wing Research; Corrine Yu, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Senior Counsel and Managing Policy Director; and Mark Kappelhoff, Section Chief of the Criminal Section in the Department of Justices Civil Rights Division. These distinguished speakers will present an overview on the current state of affairs concerning hate speech and hate crimes and a discussion on how to address these issues will follow.

If you care about the state of the media, this is one event you cannot afford to miss. The conference will offer bold strategies, new ideas and concrete solutions toward building more diverse and independent media, stopping runaway media consolidation, saving the Internet, and much, much more. Learn more about the National Conference for Media Reform at its web site: www.freepress.net/conference

We hope to see you in Minneapolis.

Minority Media Ownership

On December 18, 2007 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to relax some of the decades-old media ownership rules, including repealing a rule that prohibits a company from owning both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city. The new ownership rule allows, under certain conditions, the ownership of a TV or radio station and a newspaper in the top 20 media markets in the U.S., but presumes that such combinations are not in the public interest in smaller markets, although waivers will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
This FCC vote is shameful; the FCC relaxed media ownership rules without regard to the fact that media diversity is in a state of crisis. “Our country is diversifying, but our media is not. More than a third of Americans are people of color, yet they own less than 3% of television stations and less than 8% of radio stations — and these numbers are going down, not up,” protested Alex Nogales, NHMC President & CEO. “This is not only a disgraceful situation; it is a dangerous one because ownership determines the content in our media system. If the structure of media ownership rests on inequality, it will breed inequality in representation, culture and civic participation.”

Elected officials and media advocates are working to annul this FCC vote from December. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) introduced a “resolution of disapproval” (S.J.RES.28) in the Senate that would reverse the FCC decision allowing companies to own and dominate the programming for both a community’s newspaper and broadcast station. “Our nation is best served when we have access to a variety of media sources,” said Dorgan. “Smaller and independent media outlets across the country provide local news that simply would not exist if large media conglomerates continue their consolidation efforts.” The legislation currently has 22 co-sponsors including Senators Snowe, Kerry, Collins, Dodd, Obama, Harkin, Clinton, Cantwell, Biden, Reed, Feinstein, Sanders, and Tester. Congress has only 60 legislative days from when the resolution was approved to pass this bill.

In the House, Representative Jay Inslee (D-WA) introduced a companion measure in the House (H.J.RES.79) aimed at nullifying the controversial FCC rule. This measure has bipartisan support and has seven co-sponsors including: U.S. Reps. Dave Reichert (R-WA), Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI.) and Maxine Waters (D-CA).

Additionally, more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed against the December 18th FCC decision to loosen the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership ban. NHMC joined a petition for reconsideration filed by the Institute for Public Representation and Georgetown University Law Center. The petition’s main points include: 1) The Revised Newspaper-Broadcast Cross-Ownership Rule is Unworkable in its Current Form; 2) The Commission Should Reconsider Its Decision To Grandfather Five Newspaper-Broadcast Cross-Ownerships; 3) The Commission Should Tighten The Duopoly Rule Because Digital Television Eliminates the Need For Multiple Licenses; and 4) The Commission Should Lower Radio Ownership Limits.

In the meantime, NHMC continues to work with its media allies to promote other ways to increase minority and women ownership in media such as:

Promote the redefinition of “Eligible Entity” at the FCC. The current small business definition is too broad, and will likely help non-monopoly-owned stations at the expense of female and minority owners. We advocate for a “small and economically disadvantaged business” definition to be used.
Reinstate Minority Media Tax Certificates. Promote legislation to reinstate the minority media tax certificate. Tax certificates were widely used in the ‘80s as a tool for increasing minority ownership. These certificates allow companies to defer capital gains taxes when they sell a station to a minority owner.

Suggested Action Plan: If you have not contacted your Senator(s) about supporting the resolution of disapproval (S.J.RES.28), please take a moment to take action here:
https://secure.freepress.net/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=243

Please also contact your House Representatives and ask them to also support the resolution of disapproval in the House (H.J.RES.79).

Low Power FM (LPFM)

In February of this year, Low Power FM (LPFM) radio supporters from across the nation participated in the Low Power FM Leadership Days. Over fifty committed activists for community radio gathered in Washington D.C. for a day of training before they headed to the FCC and Capitol Hill to advocate for community radio and to fight for their voices on the dial. NHMC participated in these activities and accompanied volunteers to their meetings with Members of Congress. It was inspiring to see so many activists travel to our nation’s capital to advocate in support of Low Power FM.

Low power FM stations are one-hundred watt, non-commercial stations, licensed only to local groups in smaller towns in the U.S. Folks from Nashville to New Orleans and beyond are fighting to bring LPFM to big cities, too. When the nation’s big broadcasters convinced Congress to limit Low Power FM radio to rural areas, they also asked the FCC to prove there was plenty of room for LPFM. We have that proof now and are fighting in the FCC and Congress to expand the service to your neck of the woods.

To learn more about the progress of LPFM and about Radio Movimiento, an LPFM station licensed to the Pineros y Campesinos Unidos de Noroeste (the Farmworkers and Treeplanters United of the Northwest), go to
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16820381

As mentioned in our previous Media Policy Watch update, Congressman Mike Doyle and Congressman Lee Terry have introduced an important bill (H.R. 2802), the Local Community Radio Act of 2007 which, if passed, will expand access to community radio all across the country. The passage of the bill would have Congress recognize that there is no possible interference from LPFM radio stations in the nation’s big cities, and allows the FCC to grant station licenses there. H.R. 2802 now has 76 co-sponsors. This is a very strong number that reflects the support we have in Congress but it is still not enough. We need more co-sponsors to make sure this bill moves forward and we need your help to make this happen. Senators John McCain and Maria Cantwell also introduced identical legislation -- Senate Bill 1675. S. 1675 has eight co-sponsors including the three Presidential candidates. We need your help to make sure your Senator(s) support this bill.

We will continue to work closely with our friends and media allies at Prometheus Radio Project and others to protect and expand LPFM around the country. We would also like to take this opportunity to wish Hannah Sassaman, our friend and colleague at Prometheus Radio, best wishes in her new endeavors. Hannah has been a strong and effective advocate of Low Power FM and it’s been a great pleasure to collaborate and work with her. Felicidades Hannah, we will miss you but know you will continue your powerful advocacy work on behalf of disenfranchised communities!

Suggested Action Plan: It’s time to educate our legislators on the importance of LPFM and to ask them to co-sponsor these vital bills. To write a letter to them now, visit http://www.freepress.net/lpfm. And if you prefer to call your legislators today, go to Take Action here!

Please forward this important information to family, friends and colleagues who care about community radio. Once you take action, we would love to hear from you - so please write a short e-mail to igonzalez@nhmc.org and tell us about your experience in regards to this action. Thank you!

White Spaces

After years of shouting at the rain, there is finally a solution to the digital divide that has separated poor neighborhoods and rural communities from the rest of the nation in high-speed internet access. The answer: utilizing unused parts of the TV broadcast spectrum, also known as white spaces, to create wireless networks around the country that can bring broadband into every home in America.

Too many American Latinos and other minorities are on the wrong side of digital divide today. While broadband internet adoption among American Latino households has increased over the past three years, still less than a third of American Latino internet users have broadband access. White space technology is the best chance of ensuring that low-income, minority and rural households are able to catch up to the 21st century.

The television signal that your grandmother once captured with her rabbit-ear antenna on top of her old TV set could bring the internet into your living room, your classroom, and even into the palm of your hand. So why would anyone stand in the way of capitalizing on this tremendous resource? The same reason poor, rural and minority America has always been an afterthought for broadband deployment: Money.

So why is this available technology not coming to a Best Buy or Circuit City near you any time soon? To date, the chief obstacle has been opposition from companies using the adjacent broadcast spectrums. These opponents, most specifically the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), have publicly and inaccurately raised concerns about the potential of white space devices interfering with TV signals.

The truth is that white space devices (WSD) are new and innovative, but not ready for the consumer markets. That is why the Federal Communications Commission is currently examining prototype devices. The FCC is conducting experiments on these prototypes to conclusively demonstrate they can transmit broadband wireless signals without causing harmful interference. These thorough tests will determine the rules of the road for future products and applications ready for mass consumption. After the rules are written, these devices will still need to go through an extensive certification process by the FCC to ensure their compliance. The FCC has the longstanding experience and expertise to ensure that the next generation of broadband technology won’t harm broadcasters.

Nearly one in three American Latino households still rely on over-the-air-only (analog) television. The NHMC, perhaps more than any other organization, strongly believes that the FCC must proceed cautiously to ensure that this new technology does not disrupt Television broadcasts. At the same time, we need and deserve both uninterrupted broadcast television and to bridge the digital divide.

This new white space technology will spur innovation and create new applications for consumers, students, and emergency personnel. If white space devices become a reality, communities that have historically faced greater barriers in adopting broadband internet, due to its cost and availability, will now have another option. Opening up white spaces is about using a public resource for a greater public good.

NHMC is part of the Wireless Innovation Alliance (WIA), a coalition of companies, organizations, and advocates working to unlock the potential that lies inside the “White Spaces” of our Television spectrum. WIA is united by the goal of realizing the potential of this unused national resource. From TV on the go, to internet access for rural communities, to interoperable communications for emergency first responders, the technologies of tomorrow will be built inside today’s unused white spaces. You can learn more about the alliance and White Space at www.wirelessinnovationalliance.org.

WIA is urging the FCC to continue pursuing its current course and conduct further testing before a final rule is adopted under the current white spaces proceedings. Opponents of WSDs, specifically the NAB, have lobbied to prevent the widespread deployment of WSDs and have launched a massive public relations effort to spread uncertainty about the viability of WSD technology. NAB has aired TV spots depicting “doomsday” — an increasingly irritated woman banging on her TV because, “if Microsoft and other high-tech companies have their way, your TV could freeze up and become unwatchable.”

While there is certainly a risk that white space internet devices could interfere with some television signals, the potential for cheap, accessible wireless broadband is too great to pass up and the testing of white space devices must be allowed to go forward.

Suggested Plan of Action: There is currently no action for you to take on this issue right now. However, please continue to be aware of the opportunity that White Spaces can provide to create wireless networks around the country to bring broadband into every home in America.

A La Carte

We are pleased to report that there hasn’t been much movement to promote a la carte in Congress. As you will recall, a la carte is being promoted by some media advocates as a way to reduce consumer costs and to restrict adult programming from coming into the home. FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin, has told Congress that the FCC may want to mandate a la carte as a way to help television viewers control indecent and/or violent content. For now, this particular issue appears to be stalled and we are grateful, because the NHMC can now focus on other media policy issues for the moment.

A number of studies, including a 2004 Federal Communications Commission report, show that a la carte will have a negative impact on programming diversity in this country. If a la carte is implemented without any provisions for protecting diversity, the few Latino networks currently on the air, including Sítv and LA-TV, will most likely disappear because they do not yet command the viewership that more established networks have. If this happens, the American Latino community will be significantly stifled and the progress Latinos have made to own and/or operate English-language networks, whose target audience is English-speaking Latino youth, will be lost. Sítv and LA-TV reflect the unique Latino culture, traditions and point of view, thereby instilling pride and a grounded sense of identity that is important to our youth. Additionally, these emerging networks also employ hundreds of American Latinos, both in front and in back of the camera, providing the necessary experience and the ability to compete for mainstream network jobs.

NHMC continues to strongly oppose a la carte and considers this media policy issue the biggest threat to our community and to television diversity. We do not agree that a la carte will lower consumer costs and we strongly believe it will have a negative impact on the independent networks that cannot compete with the networks owned by the media conglomerates. Equipment already exists that parents can purchase to monitor their children's television programming. The NHMC will align its supporters against the a la carte policy threat and continue to fight this well-meaning, but erroneous legislation.

Suggested Action Plan: Since there is currently no movement on the Hill on this particular issue, no action on your part is necessary at this time.

Community Broadband Network

Community groups, cities and towns across the country are setting up low-cost, high-speed wireless broadband networks utilizing technologies like WiFi that operate on unlicensed, open spectrum. The NHMC believes that each community has the right to provide free and/or affordable high speed internet and broadband connection to its citizenry.

Thanks to increasingly affordable technologies, community broadband networks are becoming a reality throughout the U.S. In fact, according to a ComputerWorld news article, the new WiFi network in Minneapolis — only partially completed and just two months old — offered the city critical help in responding to the collapse of the I-35W bridge. The network helped the city with communications, moving large mapping files to the recovery site, and supporting wireless cameras that are being installed to help with recovery operations. This is one of the reasons municipalities promote this type of network – greater efficiency during a city emergency.

Nevertheless, phone and cable companies want to make it illegal for communities to be able to launch such initiatives. There are currently 12 states that have already passed laws restricting the ability of municipalities to provide broadband services.

U.S. Representatives Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Fred Upton (R-MI), have introduced a bill in the House to keep states from putting up barriers to public broadband networks. Boucher says the internet is a public utility, such as water or electricity. This bill would preserve local government’s ability to build their own municipal broadband networks. “The Community Broadband Act of 2007” (H.R. 3281) would preserve the ability of local governments to offer community broadband infrastructure and services to their citizens by prohibiting states from barring their ability to do so. A companion bill in the Senate (S.1853) introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D- NJ) has currently eight co-sponsors.

In addition to emergencies, community broadband networks are also needed because telephone and cable prices continue to rise and these companies want to offer service only in the areas that they select. Another positive aspect is that competition from local communities will bring prices down. High speed internet and broadband should not only be accessible to high-income residents. As all Americans have the right to water and electricity, they should also have the right to fast-connectivity. If private companies won’t commit to serving all communities, then there is no alternative than to bring in local governments. This is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Without high-speed connectivity, people are disadvantaged by not being able to quickly access information that oftentimes is a vital resource in an emergency, for education, jobs and health information and resources. Community broadband networks are an alternative solution to the very serious issue on the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots.

Suggested Action Plan: Call your Senator(s) and Representatives and let them know your position regarding “The Community Broadband Act of 2007” (H.R. 3281) and (S. 1853).

Public Interest Obligations for Broadcast Licensees

Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo recently introduced legislation that will revive the Public Interest Obligations for Broadcast Licensees. Below are excerpts from the Congresswoman’s “Dear Colleague” letter asking her colleagues to co-sponsor the legislation.

“I’ve become increasingly concerned about the effect of media ownership on our democracy. The corporatization of our media and the massive consolidation of media outlets are the root cause of the eroded public discourse in this country.

Two major conglomerates control two-thirds of the national radio market. Increasingly, “local broadcasts” are voice tracked or recorded remotely and passed off as live local broadcasts. Clear Channel radio stations voice track up to 70% of their broadcasts. Television stations devote less than one half of one percent of total programming time to local public affairs. Four out of ten commercial TV stations surveyed in 2003 aired no local public affairs programs. 92% of the election coverage aired by the national networks in the two weeks before Election Day 2004 was devoted to the presidential contest leaving only 8% for local elections and referendums.

The consolidation we’ve witnessed has coincided with the erosion of the public interest standard. The idea that broadcasters are public fiduciaries has been lost. I believe relaxed ownership rules and rubber stamped postcard license renewals have contributed to this degradation. When a broadcaster receives a license they are investing in public responsibility and service. I believe we need to reinvigorate the public interest requirement on broadcasters.
I’m introducing legislation entitled the Broadcast Licensing in the Public Interest Act. This legislation attempts to revive the public interest standard:

First, the bill reduces a broadcast license term from eight years to three. The three year term will bring greater oversight and scrutiny to license renewals.
Second, the bill requires broadcast licensees seeking a renewal to demonstrate that they have made a dedication to civic affairs of its community and to local news gathering. The bill also mandates that broadcasters air locally produced programming and make a commitment to provide a public presentation of the views of candidates and issues related to local, statewide or national elections.
Finally, the bill mandates that broadcasters provide quality educational programming for children.

If enacted, this legislation would strengthen the public interest standard and force greater scrutiny on license renewals.”

NHMC supports this legislation and encourages you to consider supporting it as well.

Suggested Action Plan: Call your Representatives and ask them to co-sponsor the “Broadcast Licensing in the Public Interest Act” (H.R. 4882)