Organizer: Media Alliance
Only opportunity on West Coast; advocates and local communities organize

(San Francisco, June 21, 2004) – Media Alliance, together with national and regional advocates, announced today plans to ensure a broad cross-section of Californians’ voices are heard at a public hearing just scheduled by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The latter announced Friday that a hearing will be held on July 21 at the Monterey Conference Center, 1 Portola Plaza. At stake is whether local broadcasting is meeting local community needs.

"We know that people are tired of dumbed-down journalism, rampant commercialism, and big media companies buying local newspapers, tv and radio stations,” Jeff Perlstein, Director of Media Alliance. “This is a crucial opportunity to make our voices heard, especially those of communities often underrepresented in the media. We are working with a broad coalition of organizations and communities to make sure this happens."

The FCC’s Monterey hearing is the only event on the West Coast for members of the public to testify to the FCC on how well local broadcasters are fulfilling their public interest obligations and how the regulatory agency can encourage better service to their communities.

The coalition announced plans for preparatory meetings and community teach-ins in Salinas, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Francisco, with additional public forums anticipated in Fresno, San Jose and Sacramento. Supporting organizations include Common Cause, the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, Free Press, the Mediaworkers’ Guild, Radio Bilingüe, the Unitarian Universalists, and more.

The Monterey hearing will be the fourth in a series of six by the FCC’s Localism Task Force to solicit public input about whether local broadcasting is meeting the needs of local communities. Previous hearings were held in Charlotte, NC; San Antonio, TX; and Rapid City, SD.

The Localism Task Force and this series of hearings were initiated in response to widespread public outcry over the FCC’s 3-2 vote last June on a change to media ownership rules that weaken protections and allow the largest media firms to grow even larger. Over two million emails, letters and petitions protesting that decision were sent to the FCC and Capitol Hill from conservative and liberal groups alike.

Media Alliance (http://www.media-alliance.org) is a twenty-eight year old media resource and advocacy center based in San Francisco that works on behalf of media professionals, non-profit organizations and underrepresented communities to foster a more diverse, accountable and just media system.

For additional background information about the FCC's hearings and broadcast licenses, see http://www.freepress.net/townmeetings

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Location:
Monterey Conference Center
Steinbeck Forum, Third Floor
One Portola Plaza
Monterey, California 93940
Cost: Free
Directions: http://www.media-alliance.org/article.php?story=20040713135134793
Contact: sydney (at) media-alliance.org
URL: http://www.media-alliance.org