Cheryl Leanza

If Congress doesn’t act to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), millions of households that currently have broadband internet access could lose it before the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Students could fall into the “homework gap," meaning they won't be able to complete schoolwork at home and keep up with their classmates.

Three media justice advocates stressed the importance of retelling stories—and telling them accurately—at the 37^th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Awards Breakfast today in Washington, DC, sponsored by the United Church of Christ’s media justice ministry, the Office of Communication, Inc. Three media justice advocates stressed the importance of retelling stories—and telling them accurately—at the 37^th Annual Everett C.

The support structures that assist low-income families cannot work unless those in need have functional means of communication. Doctors monitoring children with fragile health, employers who can offer an extra shift to a struggling worker, nutrition support programs like SNAP which must confirm income eligibility — all these must be able to communicate with a low-income person, often within limited timeframes. Our collective and individual economic well-being is dependent on communications tools.

Two longtime advocates instrumental in shaping the media justice field will be honored October 11, 2018 at the 36th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture in Washington DC.

[Commentary] If the public had any doubt as to whether Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai was going to follow his own regulatory philosophy consistently during his term, one of the votes April 20 confirms that he chooses to follow his own principles only when it suits the powerful companies and political interests that back him. Applying his own ideas against the “UHF discount” draft order reveals much:
One of Chairman Pai’s abiding goals is to root out “obsolete rules,”
According to his regulatory philosophy “regulators should be skeptical of pleas to … afford special treatment,”
“as a creature of Congress, the FCC must respect the law as set forth by the legislature,”
“throughout my time at the Commission, I have worked on ways for the FCC to foster diversity in the broadcast industry,” and
“consumers benefit most from competition.”

Chairman Pai’s and Commissioner O’Rielly’s vote tomorrow morning will violate all five of these principles simultaneously: they are starting on a path of massive media consolidation by reinstating a technically obsolete rule justified by promising to change a rule Congress has specifically prohibited the FCC from changing and making it more difficult for smaller stations owned by women and people of color.

[Cheryl Leanza is the policy adviser for the United Church of Christ’s media justice ministry, OC Inc.]