What You Stand For

We all know Michael J. Copps as a person and a public official. But I want to speak to Michael’s values. As an FCC Commissioner, Michael Copps brought the FCC to the public and the public to the FCC. He engaged broad constituencies in policy discussions. Among these, he valued input and participation from groups he termed “non-traditional stakeholders" like civil rights groups, Native Americans, people with disabilities, and other marginalized communities. By approaching these groups, Michael sought to expand the pool of legitimate stakeholders and participants in media policy decisions, with the assumption that this would also ultimately broaden the range of voices and views represented within our media and improve newsroom diversity. This is as important today as it was during his tenure.  The fight for media democracy—to which Michael has dedicated much of his professional life—is ongoing. Michael continues to advocate passionately for the policy positions that he championed as FCC commissioner. He has done so by partnering with Common Cause, Free Press, Public Knowledge, and the Benton Foundation. His fight is our fight.