Advocacy at The Federal Communications Commission

The Coalition was effective in making a forceful case that outlined the dangers that accompany media consolidation. We made our case directly to FCC Commissioners in Washington DC.

As part of our July, 2006 Coalition "Kickoff" activities, MDC stakeholders met with FCC Commissioner Adelstein and Commissioner Copps’ legal advisor, Jessica Rosenworcel, to discuss the upcoming FCC’s Media Ownership Proceeding.

Our meetings were bolstered by an impressive body of research provided by coalition partners to the official ownership docket. On October 19, in a dozen states around the country, the Media and Democracy Coalition released new research that shined a light on the FCC’s new media ownership proceeding. Coalition member organization, Consumer Federation of America, produced an important study that demonstrated the negative impact that media consolidation would have on local communities. On October 19, in a dozen states around the country, the Media and Democracy Coalition released reports that found that that in each instance, most citizens already live in highly concentrated media markets with few choices for news and views. The arguments made in these studies, which were later submitted into the new media ownership docket, were amplified with coordinated press activities that were organized locally by coalition partners on the ground.

In addition to the twelve media market analyses, Coalition members submitted three supplementary pieces of research into the docket. Consumer Federation of America (CFA) completed a 25-page study that demonstrated that newspapers, the primary source of local news and information, are not in desperate need of being bailed out by TV stations and that independent journalism is not improved by cross ownership. CFA researchers also submitted 50 pages of comments as a rebuttal to industry arguments, which served to identify and rebut the key analytic and empirical errors and irrelevant arguments in the industry comments. Also, Media Access Project was commissioned to file legal comments with the FCC on behalf of several of our member organizations, which solidified our case at the FCC.

Also central to our strategy at the FCC were the efforts to involve citizens in public hearings organized throughout the country, during which members of the public and panelists had an opportunity to testify in front of FCC Commissioners, and sometimes lawmakers, about their media experiences, needs and concerns. Since the FCC announced their Further Notice of a Proposed Rule-making for the media ownership proceeding on June 21, 2006, Media and Democracy Coalition organizations have had a noticeable presence at every official FCC hearing. We have also organized several unofficial hearings in communities across the country that have been attended by federal policymakers.

Educating Policymakers on Capitol Hill

Educating lawmakers around our issues was a key component of our July campaign-kickoff meeting in DC. MDC leaders met with legislators and Hill staff for an afternoon of briefings and meetings. We met with Senator Dorgan (D-ND) and the staff of Congressman Markey (D-MA) about S. 2686, the telecom bill that was passed by the House and being debated in the Senate.

Following that briefing, Coalition members met with more than a dozen U.S. Senators to discuss pending telecom issues. This productive afternoon of meetings offered MDC leaders and elected officials the opportunity to become familiar with the issues at hand.

These meetings were followed with a coordinated round of in-district visits with key legislators and staff. Our state campaign organizers and their allies met with legislators to express concerns and educate policymakers about pending Internet and media ownership policy.