Weigh in on the Future of Media

The Federal Communications Commission is taking a long hard look at our whole media system – and they need to hear from you. Their new intiative, "Future of Media and Information Needs of Communities in a Digital Age," is a wide ranging investigation into the media needs of communities and the potential government role in helping meet those needs.

If you could give your local media a grade, what would it be? Does the evening news showcase any real news? Has your local newspaper been gutted by layoffs? Does your local television station cover issues of concern to you? Is there a great Web site trying to fill in the gaps?

We need local citizens, journalists, and organizations to weigh in before the FCC submits their national report card to the White House. Now is your chance to tell Washington how your local media is doing – and what they should be doing about it. The deadline is May 7th, 2010.

How important is news and information to you? What kinds of information do you need to be active in your community and participate in your democracy? What important kinds of news and information do you rely on daily, monthly, or yearly? How do you find out about elections, local government, important local, regional and national policy debates, emergency and safety information? Do you have access to all the information you need?

Is commercial media (on radio, TV, cable, web and print) serving your community, discussing important local issues, and representing the diversity of your area? How has media consolidation impacted the news in your community? Are you getting the kind of local news you need and want from commercial media? How could public policy improve commercial media?

How should public media differ from commercial media? How could public media help meet the information needs of communities? Should America strengthen and expand its public media system? Are local nonprofit news websites competing with traditional media? How are noncommercial media outlets important for educational, arts, and children’s programming?

Does your community have affordable high speed Internet service that is accessible to all people? What kinds of news are most available via the web or mobile devices? Do you believe that games and social networks are a key part of the news ecosystem? Is your local government online and do they make key information available via their website?

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