Public Interest Groups Open New Front in Media Reform Movement

National coalition calls on FCC to set forth public interest guidelines before they give away billions of dollars' worth of publicly-owned airwaves to commercial broadcasters.

APRIL 15, 2004 -- The Public Interest, Pubic Airwaves Coalition, an alliance of public interest groups, media activists and grassroots organizers, will announce on Tuesday, April 20 a broad-based campaign urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to hold the nation's commercial broadcasters to a more responsible standard of public service. The announcement will be made with FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein at a 1:00 pm press conference at the Las Vegas Hilton (Room S227) during the National Association of Broadcasters annual gathering in Las Vegas.

The Coalition is taking this action as the television industry stands poised to receive another massive FCC giveaway -- involving billions of dollars worth of publicly-owned digital broadcasting capacity. Before the FCC acts on behalf of broadcasters, the Coalition has called on the agency to clearly define its public interest obligation, in particular as it concerns civic and electoral programming.

The campaign was kicked off on April 7 when the Alliance for Better Campaigns, Benton Foundation, Common Cause, Center for Digital Democracy, Center for Creative Voices in Media, Institute for Public Representation of Georgetown University Law Center, Media Access Project, New America Foundation and the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, Inc. asked the FCC to move quickly to establish a clear and strong public interest obligation for the nation's commercial broadcasters.

The Coalition's proposal asks the regulatory agency to help ensure among other items that licensed broadcasters air:

1. a minimum three hours per week of civic or electoral affairs programming on their most-watched primary channel; and
2. independently produced programming for at least 25 percent of the primary channel's prime time schedule.

According to the proposal, "One core component of these public interest requirements is that broadcasters provide opportunities for citizens to become informed about -- and involved in -- local civic affairs and elections."

The FCC proposal is supported by a nationwide petition drive launched on April 12 by grassroots organizations including the Alliance for Better Campaigns, Common Cause, Free Press, Media for Democracy, MediaChannel.org, MoveOn.org and TrueMajority.org. On April 20, the Coalition will deliver thousands of signed petitions to FCC Chairman Michael Powell during the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas. The petition calls upon the FCC "to define minimum standards for broadcasters to fulfill their public interest obligation through coverage of elections and civic affairs."

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• The Next Front in the Media Reform Movement