TV Brouhaha in Iowa

Every few weeks, 15 or so Cedar Rapids, Iowa, residents huddle at the library to plot another attack on one of the country's biggest TV- station owners. Iowans for Better Local TV is taking aim at the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which operates 60 stations nationwide, including local CBS affiliate KGAN. Frustrated by what the group says is inadequate local-news and community involvement, they are noisily pressuring Sinclair. “We want to put Iowa values back into the product,” says Arron Wings, one of the group's founders. “We want [the] local aspect back in their news and more connection to the local community.” Iowans for Better Local TV (ILBTV) is circulating petitions and explaining their position to the media, and even considering filing a petition with the FCC to deny KGAN's license renewal. And when FCC commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan Adelstein visit Iowa City for a town-hall meeting on the future of media on Oct. 5, IBLTV members plan to further vent their frustrations.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Allison Romano]
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