Two FCC Commissioners Hear Local Views on Media

TWO FCC COMMISSIONERS HEAR LOCAL VIEWS ON MEDIA
[SOURCE: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 9/7, AUTHOR: Paul Gores]
Continued consolidation of the news media will make already-sketchy coverage of important issues worse, and American citizens should rally to prevent it. That message was repeated early and often Thursday night as two members of the Federal Communications Commission visited Milwaukee to hear interest groups, residents, students and community leaders describe their views of local newspapers and radio and TV stations. In fact, that same message was sounded by the two FCC commissioners themselves - former Milwaukee area resident Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein. Commissioner Copps noted that political coverage has declined on TV as media companies have grown. Commissioner Adelstein complained that local news is dominated by crime coverage and that there are "fewer reporters covering fewer issues." The occasion for the venting of frustrations was the "Town Hall Meeting on the Future of Media," which was organized by the national media-reform organization Free Press with the help of local colleges and various groups. Eight similar gatherings have been held in other cities, with testimony sometimes lasting longer than four hours, said Free Press spokesman Craig Aaron.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=493292
* Wisconsin Speaks Out on Media Consolidation
http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=162
See also:
* FCC to citizens: How's the media doing?
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=489939