Change The Channels Blog Posts
All Voters Deserve Access to the Information Hiding in Political Files
Last Friday, the Federal Communications Commission voted to put television broadcasters’ public and political files online to make them easier to access. This is a major victory.
But while all TV broadcasters will have to migrate the majority of their public records online this year, only stations in the top 50 media markets that are also affiliated with major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox or NBC) are required to digitize their political files this election season. All other TV stations can delay posting until 2014.
These exemptions mean that not a single Spanish-language station will be required to put its political file online this election year.
Who Owns What
Did you know that Viacom owns 160 cable channels that reach more than 600 million people worldwide?
Or that the Hearst Corporation owns 31 television stations and 20 U.S. magazines?
Television Stations Don't Like Television Cameras
What happens when a group of broadcast journalism students set out to inspect the public files at their local television stations?
Three out of four stations refuse to let their cameras in.
“Cleveland television stations,” one student said, “don’t like television cameras.”
Collaboration, Competition and Consolidation: Where Is the Line?
Many of the same technological changes and economic pressures that have driven the development of collaborative journalism are also driving media consolidation. In both cases, proponents argue that benefits include reducing overhead costs and pooling resources to provide quality journalism to the community.
How Journalism Collaborations Are Changing the Way the News is Made
When we say the word “collaboration,” are we all talking about the same thing? Or is that word, and the practices it encompasses, still being negotiated and hashed out in newsrooms and communities? The journalism partnerships emerging around the country vary in size and type, and the practices that define those partnerships are still being negotiated and hashed out in newsrooms and communities.
Let the Sun Shine In
Earlier this month, we issued a challenge to our members. We asked them to take a day off from work, visit their local television stations and … rifle through their filing cabinets.
It’s not the most glamorous gig, but over 100 people all over the country came forward to volunteer. The public files our television stations are required to maintain can give us insights into the inner workings of the political ad machine. They can also help us understand how each media outlet serves — or fails to serve — its community.
Happy Sunshine Week!
Welcome to Sunshine Week — a time to stand up for the importance of open government and freedom of information. And what better time than the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, when winter shadows are receding and the sun begins to usher in new life.
But as we all know, the metaphor is aspirational. In reality, darkness still obscures information that the public needs to participate fully in our democracy. That’s why, in honor of Sunshine Week, Free Press volunteers all over the country will be shining their own lights on their local media outlets. Starting today and continuing all week long, our volunteers will be paying visits to their local TV stations to inspect their public files.
Tucson Media Monopoly Takes Root
UPDATE: Today marks the beginning of a local media monopoly in Tucson, Ariz. Exploiting loopholes in the Federal Communications Commission’s ownership rules, Raycom Media has taken control of three local stations: KMSB, KOLD and KTTU. The stations are now co-branded as “Tucson News Now” and they operate out of the same studio (about 40 employees lighter than before).
The Public's Right to Know
In the media reform world, we often say we’re fighting for “better” media. Of course, “better” is the sort of word that begs comparison: better than what? If we’re to demand more of our local broadcasters, we need to know what’s wrong with the status quo.
Broadcasters use the public airwaves free of charge, and in return are supposed to provide programming that fulfills the news and information needs of communities. The Federal Communications Commission requires broadcasters to keep public files detailing exactly how they serve local needs. But these records are generally kept in file cabinets at local TV stations and are not easily accessible. So the pressure is on for broadcasters to put these files online in a publicly searchable database.
The FCC's Ownership Review Marks a Critical Chance to Turn the Tide
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Our local media outlets are being stripped for parts. Aided by decades of bad policymaking, the large companies that control most of the broadcast outlets across the country are laying off local DJs, shuttering local newsrooms and inching ever closer toward creating monopolies in local marketplaces. The more media outlets consolidate, the more our diverse local media is being replaced by faceless, automated infotainment. If it’s true that the media influences and shapes our culture, then we’re headed down a path to uniformity, where cheap centralized content replaces diverse local voices and quality programming.
Proposals under consideration in Washington, D.C. this year could help communities reclaim local airwaves, but they could just as easily play into the hands of the content mills. The proposals, and the processes for adopting them, are complicated and hard to navigate. So we decided to break down exactly what’s at stake, and why it’s essential for all of us to speak up for media that serves our communities, not corporations.
Change the Channels
Check out the interactive map to see consolidating newsrooms near you.
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