Did you know that in the past six months, major newspapers ran three times as many stories featuring Britney Spears than Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice?
Nothing personal against Britney, but we need less media coverage of her and more news about the policy decisions that impact our lives. But the giant companies that produce most of our news just aren’t providing it.
We only have three weeks to tell the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) not to allow a few of these corporations to grab even more power.
After the December 21 deadline for public comments, the FCC will start considering sweeping changes to media ownership rules.
What kind of changes might they make? Right now, one company can’t own both the local newspaper and a TV station in the same market. The FCC could toss out that rule. It’s critical to ensuring different viewpoints get heard.
Also on the chopping block: rules that limit the total number of TV and radio stations a company can own. Some of these rules have been on the books for more than 30 years because of concerns about one company having too much control over what people in a given community read, watch and hear.
As we speak, media companies are spending millions to lobby the FCC. We need a major grassroots push if we’re going to counter that pressure.
Click here to send your message to the FCC right now — then pass this message along!
Let’s remind the FCC that it’s their duty to put the public’s interests first, not the profits of a few big corporations.
Thanks for all you do for Common Cause.
Sincerely,
The Common Cause Media Reform Team
Lauren Coletta, Celia Wexler and Dawn Iype
P.S. Don’t forget to spread the word about this issue before the deadline passes.
P.P.S. You can also help by posting a banner on your website, blog or MySpace page.
Filed under: Action Alert!, activism, Anti-War, media, Political Websites, Press Release, reform, US Politics Tagged: | book of the month
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