This brief statement was submitted by MA to the House Judiciary Committee asking for full broadcast access on the lowest-priced cable system tiers.
Continue reading Keep Broadcast Access Affordable
Category Archives: Media Ownership
Mergers, diversity of ownership, and multiple perspectives.
AT&’s Anti-PEG Product
This 2011 video from keepusconnected.org explains and clearly demonstrates AT&T’s failure to deliver basic functionality for public, educational and government (PEG) access channels on its U-Verse system.
A petition challenging the discriminatory treatment is pending at the FCC. (2016 update: still pending).
Towards A Just Communications Structure: Pacifica Radio’s Never Ending Battle
Originally published in the
I often hear, as a Pacifica Foundation board member that terrestrial radio in general and Pacifica radio in particular, is irrelevant.
I would make the case that anything that generates as much sound and fury as Pacifica has for the last 20 years cannot possibly be irrelevant. Continue reading Towards A Just Communications Structure: Pacifica Radio’s Never Ending Battle
Why Public Access Television Is Important and You Should Fight For the CAP ACT
Originally published in Huffpost Media
In May of 2009, I became a public access television producer. Couldn’t have picked a worse time.
Not because I don’t enjoy hosting and co-producing Media News. It’s a great joy to interview guests and try to shed a little light on the issues closest to my heart including: net neutrality and the digital divide, coverage of turmoil abroad and at home, the loss of local public affairs coverage and the rise in citizen journalism. I feel privileged to bring voices that need to be heard onto my local TV dial.
The reason it was bad timing is that the nation’s more than 3,000 public access centers are on the verge of extinction. Yours may go next week, next month or next year, but their days are numbered due to statewide cable franchising.
Continue reading Why Public Access Television Is Important and You Should Fight For the CAP ACT
The Day TV Goes Away: The Digital Television Transition
For many, who switched to cable and satellite services with thousands of channels, no big deal. But for some, who still jiggle rabbit ear antennas, the switch is a problem, forcing them to replace their televisions, subscribe to cable service they may not be able to afford, or buy and install a converter box using a government coupon. The people most affected by the change are often elderly, disabled, on fixed incomes or from non-English speaking households. Continue reading The Day TV Goes Away: The Digital Television Transition
Fox News Is No News Outlet
Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle
The Obama administration has taken a lot of heat recently for declaring war on Fox News, including from Chronicle columnist Debra J. Saunders. And it’s true that you can’t have presidential staffers ducking press inquiries. But media lies and distortions are another ball game entirely. Let’s look at the record: Continue reading Fox News Is No News Outlet
Pew Study: Word of Mouth Frequent Source of News
While local TV news remains the most popular source for local information in America, adults rely on it primarily for just three subjects — weather, breaking news and to a lesser extent traffic. Continue reading Pew Study: Word of Mouth Frequent Source of News
4 Bay Area Stations to Shut Off Analog Signals Early
San Francisco Chronicle by Carolyn Said
While not as hard-hit as some cities like San Diego, where several network affiliates will switch to digital months before the federal mandate, and several rural regions of the country, where customers without cable services or a functioning converter box may face the loss of multiple stations, the early switchover in the Bay Area pits the economic stresses on smaller broadcasters against their public interest obligations. Continue reading 4 Bay Area Stations to Shut Off Analog Signals Early