Media Ownership

What’s Wrong With the Comcast/Time Warner Merger

By The Editors

The Nation

February 19, 2014

The proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable into a telecommunications behemoth is the media equivalent of “too big to fail” banking. If the largest cable provider in the United States is allowed to merge with the second-largest, people living in major cities, suburbs and small towns across the country will find themselves even more tightly locked into a dysfunctional relationship with a monopolistic corporation focused on maximizing profits rather than serving local citizens. At the same time, the new cable giant will own national news, entertainment, sports and Spanish-language networks.

On February 12, 2014, news broke that Comcast, already America’s biggest Internet service provider and video distributor, would attempt to buy Time Warner Cable for 45.2 billion dollars. The deal would impact everything from internet access and pricing to how media is delivered.

The following statement is from FMC Interim Executive Director Casey Rae: read more

FMC Statement on Proposed Comcast/TWC Merger

February 13, 2014

WASHINGTON, DC— On February 12, 2014, news broke that Comcast, already America’s biggest Internet service provider and video distributor, would attempt to buy Time Warner Cable.

The following statement is from FMC Interim Executive Director Casey Rae: read more

FMC Statement on Departure of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski

Today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that he would be stepping down from his post, which he has held since the 2008 election of President Barack Obama. read more

Future of Music Statement on the Departure of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski

March 22, 2013

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that he would be stepping down from his post, which he has held since the 2008 election of President Barack Obama.

The following statement is attributed to Casey Rae, Deputy Director of Future of Music Coalition (FMC), a national non-profit research, education and advocacy organization for musicians.

“News of Chairman Genachowski’s departure was not unexpected, and comes at a crucial time for the FCC in terms of its commitments to an accessible media and communications environment for America. read more

Why Media Ownership Matters to Musicians

Are you a musician? Do you live in a town with an awesome music scene? Are you or any of your peers enjoying recognition in your community or beyond? Do you get airplay on your local commercial radio station?

If you live in Los Angeles and your band is Red Hot Chili Peppers, you can skip the last question. If you are among the rest of musical humanity, we’re guessing the answer is “not so much.”

A more important question to ask is why even the most celebrated local and regional bands can’t crack commercial playlists in their own backyards. This has much less to do with talent or popularity and everything to do with media ownership.

So who’s in charge of that, anyway? read more

Local Media (Still) Matters

Where do you get your media? If you’re like millions of people, it’s probably some combination of the internet, broadcasting and even old-fashioned print publications. As the adage goes, information is power — now more than ever before. Which is why diversity of channels and viewpoints is so important. The internet is amazing in this regard, but it’s only part of the picture. Local media can offer a platform for community voices that tend to get lost in the vastness of the global internet. Not to mention the fact that not every American has access to affordable broadband. This is why it is crucial to nurture diversity of content and programming on traditional media platforms like radio. read more

Call to the FCC: Focus on Diversity

Today, a group of 46 signees sent a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski urging the Commission to make diversity a central focus of its upcoming Quadrennial Media Ownership Rule Review.

The letter calls for the FCC to:

1. Evaluate the impact of its media ownership rules on ownership opportunities for women and people of color.
2. Take proactive measures to promote ownership of broadcast stations by underrepresented groups.
3. Guard against further erosion of media ownership among these groups by maintaining existing media ownership limits. read more

Letter to FCC Chairman Genachowski on Diversity in Station Ownership

The Honorable Julius Genachowski
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

Re: MB Dkt 09-182, 2010 Quadrennial Review – Review of the Commission’s Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

Dear Chairman Genachowski:

We, the undersigned organizations, urge the Federal Communications Commission to make diversity a central focus of its upcoming Quadrennial Media Ownership Rule Review.

The strength of our country lies in the diversity of our people. Our media system will better serve the public interest when it draws on the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and talents of the population. Unfortunately, ownership of the nation’s media outlets consistently fails to reflect this diversity.

Women and people of color historically have been grossly underrepresented in ownership of radio and television stations — media forms that use the public airwaves and rank as our nation’s most popular and influential outlets. Women comprise over 51 percent of the population yet hold only 6 percent of radio and TV station licenses. And while people of color make up over 36 percent of the U.S. population, they hold just over 7 percent of radio licenses and 3 percent of TV licenses.1

The continued absence of FCC action in the face of deep and intractable ownership disparities is unacceptable. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently affirmed that “ownership diversity is an important aspect of the overall media ownership regulatory framework.”2 Yet the FCC has failed to adopt proactive policies to remedy these disparities. Furthermore, it has persistently neglected even to examine or address the impact of existing media market consolidation on broadcast ownership opportunities for women and people of color. The FCC must take care not to repeat the mistakes of prior administrations by “pun[ting] yet again on this important issue.”³

Most importantly, while the FCC assesses the impact of its media ownership rules and pursues more active measures to address longstanding disparities in broadcast media ownership, it must not undercut the benefits of such measures by allowing greater consolidation of broadcast outlets.

Existing media concentration levels already limit ownership opportunities for historically underrepresented groups. Excess consolidation has crowded out female and minority owners, who tend to be single-station owners who cannot compete with consolidated groups for programming and advertising revenue. Allowing increased consolidation in local media markets would raise station prices and further diminish the already limited number of stations available for purchase. This would leave women and people of color with fewer opportunities to become media owners and promote diverse programming in local communities.

In conclusion, we urge the FCC to do the following:

Absent these measures, ownership levels among underrepresented groups will continue to decline and the promise of a diverse media system that serves the information needs of all people will continue to elude our nation.

Respectfully submitted.

Access Humboldt
Alliance for Community Media
American Association of University Women
Asian American Journalists Association
Bitch Media
Center for Media Justice
Center for Social Inclusion
Common Cause
Digital Sisters
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
Feminist Majority Foundation
Free Press
Future of Music Coalition
Hollaback!
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
International Museum of Women
Media Alliance
Media Equity Collaborative
Media Literacy Project
MomsRising
National Alliance for Media Art & Culture
National Association of Black Journalists
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
National Council of Negro Women
National Council of Women Media and Technology Task Force
National Council of Women’s Organizations
National Hispanic Media Coalition
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
National Organization for Women Foundation
National Women’s Law Center
Native American Journalists Association
Native Public Media
New Moon Girls
People’s Production House
Prometheus Radio Project
Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Reclaim the Media!
Reel Grrls
Southern Connecticut State University Women’s Studies Program
SPARK Movement
UNITY: Journalists of Color
Women, Action, & the Media
Women In Media & News
Women’s Media Center
Women Who Tech

¹ S. Derek Turner, Out of the Picture 2007: Minority & Female TV Station Ownership in the United States, 2007, http://www.freepress.net/files/otp2007.pdf, and S. Derek Turner, Off the Dial: Female and Minority Radio Station Ownership in the United States, 2007, http://www.freepress.net/files/off_the_dial.pdf.

2 Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC, 652 F. 3d 431, 472 (Third Circuit, 2011)

³ Id. at 471.

Turkey Day Surprise: AT&T Drops FCC Application for T-Mobile Merger

Thanksgiving was an interesting day for those who follow telecommunications hoo-hah. While most Americans were enjoying turkey, stuffing and football, AT&T requested to withdraw their merger application with T-Mobile from consideration at the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T and Deutsche Telecom (T-Mobile’s parent company) instead announced plans to concentrate on Department of Justice antitrust proceedings that will go to trial in February 2012. read more