Grand Rapids Press on Obama’s Foreign Policy Team
Yesterday, the Grand Rapids Press published a front page story attributed to “Press Wire Services” with the headline, “Obama security team: Hawks or diplomats?” The article begins by framing the new appointments as all “more hawkish than the president who will face them down in the White House situation room.” Unfortunately for readers the article never provides any information to substantiate that these appointees are indeed “hawkish” or what “hawkish” even means in terms of policy.
The article does include a sidebar with pictures of this new national security team, but the only information provided is a chronological run down of their educational, diplomatic, and military backgrounds. There are only two sources cited in the story. The first is an Obama advisor who “spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.” This anonymous source stated that all of these new appointments “have embraced a rebalancing of America’s national security portfolio after a huge investment in new combat capabilities during the Bush years.”
This comment seems to contradict the Obama campaign promises, according to Frida Berrigan, Senior Program Associate at the New America Foundation’s Arms and Security Initiate. In a recent article Berrigan wrote, Obama “has repeatedly argued for a spike in defense spending to ‘reset’ a military force worn out by war.” He has also called for the expansion of the size of the Army and the Marines. On that point, he is in complete agreement with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. They even use the same numbers, suggesting that the Army should be augmented by 65,000 new recruits and the Marines by 27,000. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that these manpower increases alone would add about $10 billion a year to the Pentagon budget over a five-year period.”
As we have seen in recent news coverage, while there are sweeping claims made about new appointees, very little information is provided about what kinds of policies they have supported. It is now official that Robert Gates will stay on as Secretary of Defense, James Jones as National Security Advisor and Hillary Clinton as Secretary of Defense, yet there nowhere in the article to readers find out what kind of foreign policy positions any of these three have supported over the years.
Would it serve readers well to know that as a Senator that Hillary Clinton has aggressively supported the US occupation of Iraq, voting to give President Bush the initial support he asked for in 2002? Clinton is also a big supporter of the decades long US financing of Israel’s actions against the Palestinians and has voted to further isolate Iran and threaten to use military force against that country.
As current Secretary of Defense, Gates has maintained a commitment to the two major US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates has not suggested that he would commit to reducing the US military budget and he supports the development of a new generation of nuclear weapons. The article does say that Gates has served in four US administrations, but offers no information about what he has accomplished in those administrations. Investigative reporter Robert Parry has written about Gates’ role in the illegal Iran/Contra scandal in the 1980s and his role in arming Saddam Hussein in the Reagan administration. Why are these kinds of policy positions not included in the story?
Instead, the reporter in this article states, “Obama’s advisors said they were bracing themselves for the charge from the right that he is investing in social work rather than counterterrorism.” Based on the pro-war and pro-military history of Gates, Clinton, and Jones, such a claim made by “the right” would be patently false, yet the reporter follows these remarks by citint the only other source in the story Eli Pariser, with MoveOn.org. When questioned about whether or not president-elect Obama will make the change he promise, Pariser said, “We’ll see, if they turn out to be all disappointments, we’ll have a good three years to storm the gates at the White House.”
The article ends with a mention of the pressure from “liberal bloggers” to prevent the appointment of John Brennan to the CIA, which does suggest that the public can have some influence in who gets appointed to the new cabinet, but the story does not pursue that angle.
For ongoing analysis of appointments in the Obama administration, we encourage readers to go to Public Citizen’s new site called Becoming 44 for general information on appointments or to Foreign Policy in Focus for ongoing analysis of Obama’s national security team.
The Press on Obama’s “Inner Circle:” Not Much Detail
On Sunday, the Grand Rapids Press ran a Cox News Service story, which states that the new administration is “strikingly different from the last time a Democratic administration was preparing to take power.” The article then never substantiates this claim and only provides a list of president-elect Obama’s “inner circle” with a short bio after each name.
The list of Obama’s inner circle begins with Rham Emanuel, whom The Press story says was a former “Clinton White House advisor” and “chief strategist for health care and other initiatives.” We have already reported how Emanuel was a key figure in the passage of NAFTA, but the other major influence that Obama’s White Chief of Staff brings is his pro-Israel stance. Emanuel is so zealous in his support of Israel that he even “signed a letter criticizing Bush for being insufficiently supportive of Israel.”
Next on the list is David Axelrod, a “onetime political reporter for the Chicago Tribune and past consultant to Mayor Richard Daley.” The Press story also states that Axelrod was responsible for the “change” theme in the Obama campaign.
What was not mentioned in the article was that Axelrod has been a consultant to the nuclear energy corporation Exelon since 2002. Exelon has been a major donor to the Obama campaign. Axelrod has done a great deal of his consulting work with AKP&D Message & Media, a political consulting firm that serves Democrats. In addition, he works with ASK Public Strategies, a group that is known for creating corporate front groups.
Other members of the president-elect’s inner circle are David Plouffe, who also worked for AKP&D Message & Media with David Axelrod; Valarie Jarrett, a longtime Chicago political fixture who also worked for Habitat Company, “which develops and manages residential properties, from public housing to luxury condominiums”; Robert Gibbs, another political consultant. Before working on the Kerry campaign in 2004, Gibbs “worked for a third-party political group that threw sharp elbows in the 2004 Iowa caucuses–including a television ad that used a picture of Osama bin Laden to criticize Howard Dean’s foreign policy credentials.”
The story also mentions Jason Furman who will be a top economic advisor to Obama. The story mentions his relationship to former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and his position at the Brookings Institute, but fails to mention his legal work for Wal-Mart. According to writer Naomi Klein, Furman “is one of Wal-Mart’s most prominent defenders,” and is a proponent of the Chicago-School principles of economics that were developed under Milton Friedman.
In addition to Furman, Obama will also have Austan Goolsbee, another economic advisor who told a Canadian news agency that Obama would not really change NAFTA Goolsbee has also been an economic advisor for the Democratic Leadership Council, according to author Paul Street.
The last two names listed in The Press article are former Senator Tom Daschle and current Senator Dick Durbin. Daschle is mentioned as “having done extensive health care work” and Durbin as “a war critic.” Unfortunately for readers there are no details of Durbin’s voting record. Instead, we are left with comments such as “He is also well-liked in the Senate and makes good use of humor.”
The Press Reporters on Local Legislators’ Reactions to Big 3 Bailout
Yesterday, the Grand Rapids Press published a story on the positions of Representatives Vern Ehlers, Fred Upton, and Peter Hoekstra on the proposed taxpayer bailout of the US auto industry.
The story quotes each of these lawmakers with Ehlers and Upton in full support of the proposed auto industry bailout. Ehlers–in response to the current economic crisis facing GM–said “By and large, it would have a disastrous impact on Michigan if GM goes belly-up.” Upton also supports the bailout by stating, “If we can spend $150 billion on AIG, we can do it to maintain a manufacturing base.” Second Congressional District Representative Peter Hoekstra isn’t as convinced and wants to see some conditions on the bailout before he supports it. Hoekstra said, “Their (the auto industry) union relations still puts them at an advantage to other people who build cars in the US.”
Nowhere in the Press article does the reporter ask what the lawmakers’ relationships are to the auto industry and whether or not that would influence their position on the bailout.
In looking at the data provided on the Center for Responsive Politics, it seems clear that each of the three Michigan Representative cited in the story would support the bailout of the auto industry, since each have received a sizeable amount of money from the auto industry. Congressman Ehlers has received $95,130 from the auto industry, making the auto industry the seventh largest donor to Ehlers during his career in Congress. Hoekstra has received $81,315 and Fred Upton $303,730 from the auto industry. In fact, during the last election cycle <a href=”http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/mems.php”?the auto industry gave $8,699,799 to presidential and congressional candidates, with a larger share going to Democratic candidates.
The Press attempted to contact Michigan Senator Carl Levin for his response but was unable to do so. However, Levin has a short statement posted on his website which suggests he supports the auto industry bailout. “I am confident that there will be bipartisan support for legislation to support the U.S. auto industry, beginning with my co-chair of the Senate Auto Caucus, Senator George Voinovich of Ohio.” It is not surprising at some level that Levin would be in favor of the bailout since he has received $432,904 from the auto industry during his years in the Senate.
Unfortunately, there are no opinions or perspectives from autoworkers in the Grand Rapids Press article. The UAW seems to be clearly behind a government bailout, stating “Make no mistake: The domestic auto industry cannot succeed in today’s unstable economic environment without immediate help from the federal government.”
There are also no perspectives provided by taxpayers on this issue or any independent perspectives such as that of writer Lee Sustar who thinks that the auto industry should be run by workers, especially since management of the Big Three auto companies are the ones responsible for the current crisis:
“GM, Chrysler and Ford kept pushing SUVs and pickup trucks that were profitable in the 1990s and resisted pressure for higher standards on fuel efficiency. As a result, the companies are still hemorrhaging money even after eliminating an estimated 100,000 jobs since 2006 and extracting tens of billions more in concessions from the UAW.”
FCC to Vote on Use of Public Airwaves for Rural America
With the bulk of media attention on the last week of the presidential elections, almost no reporting has been done about a very important vote the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will make next week.
In February of 2009, when the digital conversion takes place for TV, there will be lots of open spectrum available for public use, particularly in rural communities. All across the United States, there are communities that do not have access to high speed Internet. One possibility for more of rural America to gain access to the Internet would be to provide broadband Internet access by using the available digital spectrum that will be available once the digital conversion takes place.
Companies like Comcast and AT&T leave out many rural communities, because they are not considered “profitable.” Utilizing the spectrum that is unused in many rural communities, digital space that is referred to as “white space,” could provide those communities with an important and viable service. However, the very companies who don’t want to service rural communities also don’t want the available TV spectrum to be used to serve the public.
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the powerful lobbying entity for broadcasters nationwide, is hoping to get the FCC to vote against opening the TV spectrum for public use.
Fortunately the Main Street Project, Center for Rural Strategies, the
Mountain Area Information Network, and Free Press have joined forces to pressure the FCC to vote in favor of greater access to the media for the public.
You can let your voice be heard by contacting the FCC before their November 4 vote and tell them that making the TV spectrum known as white space available for public use would greatly benefit rural America. You can send an e-mail to your members of Congress by going to an online media alert put together by Free Press.
Who Says Grand Rapids is America’s Greenest City?
Yesterday, the Grand Rapids Press ran a front-page story about Grand Rapids being named “America’s Greenest City.” The designation came from the national business magazine FastCompany. According to the Press story, Grand Rapids received this designation for having “more green buildings per capita than any other US city.” However, the article states that area business leaders and educators think that being green is not enough, “we need sustainability.”
According to those who are sourced in the story, sustainability is what is good for business, society, and the environment–what some refer to as the Triple Bottom Line. In fact, the only sources cited in the story is a representative from Cascade Engineering, the Aquinas College Sustainable Business Program, the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum, and The Right Place Program, a local organization that helps businesses locate to West Michigan.
Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell is also cited in the story saying, “If we want to be a sustainable community, a place where people live well, where business thrives and where natural assets are protected, then we simply must begin to think differently and let our thinking drive our acting.” Despite all this rhetoric, the only example of sustainability in West Michigan cited in the article is Cascade Engineering.
The article highlights one of Cascade Engineering’s products called the EcoCart, a recycle bin that has a radio-chip and bar code on it which “allows recyclers to track the cart and even how much a household recycles.” Even with this several paragraph description of the EcoCart, the Press article never substantiates how this product promotes sustainability. In fact, the Press reporter does not even ask what is different about this blue recycle bin and the ones the City offers residents for free. the Press writer also doesn’t bother to ask about the other products that Cascade Engineering makes–like automotive parts–and how the manufacturing of those products practices sustainability.
This Press article, like much of the recent local reporting on “going green,” continues to present the business perspective of sustainability with no critical assessment nor independent voices that are challenging what some call “Green Capitalism.” Green Capitalism is capitalism that attempts to promote itself as environmentally friendly. However, one fundamental component of Green Capitalism is that it is all always about expansion, making more products and using more of the world’s resources.
FastCompany, the magazine that gave Grand Rapids “America’s Greenest City” designation, is simply a pro-market, profits friendly publication that fits into this new group of Green Capitalists. Even with only a brief look at their website, one can see that they are primarily about to promotion of business, not sustainability. Moreover, as long as the Grand Rapids Press continues to report on the Green Capitalist movement without a critical perspective, we can expect to see more businesses promote themselves as “green” without truly being sustainable.
Grand Rapids Press Contributes to Anti-Islamic Climate
You may have noticed an advertising supplement in Sunday’s Grand Rapids Press, a DVD called “Obsession, Radical Islam’s War Against the West.” This was produced by individuals with an anti-Islamic, anti-Arab agenda and I consider it to be harmful hate speech. They are sending this out at no cost to 28 million households, often thru a supplement to local newspapers. If you don’t live in Grand Rapids, check to see if your newspaper is distributing this DVD.
The film is ideologically slanted toward painting Muslims as evil and bent on the destruction of the United States and Israel. It combines inciting commentary with images of Nazis, 9/11 and suicide bombing indoctrination. The DVD purports to be informative but is instead inflammatory and ugly in its intent. There are indeed extremist elements within Islam as there are within Judaism and Christianity and other religions. But to use the extremists to describe a religion is inexcusable. It would be entirely inappropriate to look at Judaism thru the lens of Kach or Christianity thru the lens of the White Christian Patriots. Why then should we look at Islam through the lens of the extremist minority?
The film has a disclaimer in the beginning that says most Muslims are peaceful. But the next 60 minutes consist of violent bloody images, the collapse of the twin towers, and the atrocities of Nazi Germany. The film is clearly meant to play on our emotions; it is no mistake that this DVD was sent out the Sunday after September 11 and just before a presidential election. There is no political context in the film and no explanation of Islam thus making it difficult for the viewer to intellectually understand the message. The producers cleverly use a couple of Arab voices to lend credence to their concerns but the vast majority of the film paints Islam as a fanatical religion that breeds a culture of hatred. The danger is that the proliferation of emotion-laden misrepresentations will become the prevailing viewpoint and prevent us from gaining a better world understanding.
If you have time to view it, please do and respond to the Press, either by writing to the Public Pulse (pulse@grpress.com) – you must include your name, address and phone number – or by calling Mike Lloyd (616) 222-5455 directly to express your concerns about the Press’ decision to distribute this racist DVD.
Many of you have already signed a petition to get Democracy Now! on both 88.1 FM WYCE radio and WGVU TV Channel 35 in Grand Rapids. This media alert is the last push in this campaign to get the award winning show with Amy Goodman on the local airwaves in our community.
Here is what you can do in the next few days:
1) Sign the Petition online and get others to do the same no later than May 19:
http://www.mediamouse.org/campaigns/dn-petition.php
2) We need as many people as possible to come to the May 20 Board of Directors meeting of the Community Media Center to lobby for them to air Democracy Now! on 88.1 FM WYCE. The meeting is at 6pm at the Wealthy Theatre, 1130 Wealthy. Everyone will have a chance during public comment to speak on why you want Democracy Now! to air on this community radio station.
3) If you cannot make the meeting on May 20, you can send an e-mail to the Executive Director of the Community Media Center Laurie Cirivello laurie@grcmc.org. We are also delivering petitions to WGVU TV Channel 35 next week, so we encourage you to send an e-mail to Michael T. Walenta, the station manager of WGVU:
http://www.wgvu.org/about/contactWGVU.html
Also, please encourage others to sign up for future Media Alerts by going to:
http://www.mediamouse.org/griid/contact.php
– The Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID)
http://www.mediamouse.org/griid/
The national media reform organization Free Press has issued a new action alert demanding that Congress to take action against what they call a “domestic covert propaganda campaign:”
“Yesterday, the New York Times exposed a secret Pentagon campaign to infiltrate the media with pro-war propaganda.
The scheme reaches all the way to the Bush White House, where top officials recruited dozens of “military analysts” to spread favorable views of the war via every major news channel — without revealing they were working from Pentagon scripts and often lobbying for major military contractors.
Spreading “covert propaganda” is illegal under federal law. Congress must investigate these military pundits and their ties to the Bush administration, defense contractors and our national news media.
If we can get 50,000 people to join this call to Congress, they will likely take action to stop government propaganda.
The more than 75 analysts exposed by the New York Times have become fixtures of war coverage on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. The front-page article reveals the many ways that the Pentagon fed them pro-war talking points and misinformation. The White House even has a name for these covert propagandists – message force multipliers.
The pundits trade on their access to the media and the White House to secure high-paying jobs as lobbyists, consultants and contractors — vying for hundreds of billions of dollars in military business generated by the war.
An administration secretly forcing favorable views via the press is not a partisan issue. This is a violation of every conceivable standard of journalism — and possibly of federal law.”
Free Press is asking that people send an email to their Congressional Representative demanding action.
Free Press has also produced a video providing background information on the issue:
Workers are Blamed for Lower Wages in the Grand Rapids Press
On Sunday, the Grand Rapids Press ran a front-page story about what people make in West Michigan. The story was prompted by a similar themed story that was featured in the weekly insert publication called Parade Magazine, which also explore what people earn around the country, with an emphasis on what entertainment celebrities make. It is important to note that the same company that owns the Grand Rapids Press—Advance Publications–owns Parade Magazine.
The Grand Rapids Press story is typical in how mainstream media tends to cover economic issues and particularly wage and salary issues. They generally use vague data and rely on “experts” to “help” readers understand why wages are the way they are. The first expert cited is a professor from the Grand Valley State University’s (GVSU) Seidman College of Business, Paul Isely. Isely claims that West Michigan isn’t growing as fast as the rest of the country even though he provides no evidence to support this claim. The second “expert” cited in the Press article is one of the most frequently used by the newspaper on economic issues, George Erickcek, who is the senior analyst for Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo. Erickcek’s major contention is “West Michigan never became strongly unionized, and much of Michigan’s wage growth was in union shops.” Erickcek claims that is why wages are lower now in West Michigan. Unfortunately for readers, there are no organized labor voices to counter his claims, even though the article states early on that government employees in West Michigan on average have seen a significant increase in wages. It should also be noted that most government employees are unionized as part of AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and maybe being unionized is why these workers have better wages.
Professor Isely then is quoted saying as productivity improved elsewhere, “many jobs went away.” This is code for “jobs were sent elsewhere because companies could pay a lower wage elsewhere.” This shift in jobs was sometimes facilitated by trade policies such as NAFTA and CAFTA. According to the Economic Policy Institute, Michigan lost 63,000 jobs due to NAFTA. However, the Upjohn Institute “expert” Erickcek decides that blaming working people for not finding well paying jobs is easier than looking at corporate practices. Erickcek believes the problem lies with working people when he says, “We still have people thinking they can get good jobs with a high-school education and, increasingly, that’s not the case.”
The article does manage to cite a few working people who are frustrated with the cost of living and cost of gas. However, their voices are marginal compared to the ongoing commentary of the economic experts. This type of reporting is consistent with what we have documented in the past when it comes to economic issues. While the story covers increases in gas prices cited by interviewed workers, it only provides data on how much gas prices have gone up and ignores the record profits of the oil industry. (http://www.citizen.org/cmep/energy_enviro_nuclear/articles.cfm?ID=13912)
This story in the Grand Rapids Press once again demonstrates a clear bias in reporting that favors the business community over working people.
Full Grand Rapids Press Story
Local wage race brings lots of pain, little gain
Is your paycheck showing stretch marks?
Not surprising.
Average weekly wages for private-sector jobs in West Michigan are well below national and state averages.
And the gap is widening.
Private wages averaged $633 a week in Kent County in 2001, about 5 percent below the national average.
By 2007, the local number was $732, nearly 10 percent below the national
average.
The disparity is greater for Ottawa County, going from about 11 percent to almost 16 percent below the average, according to federal Bureau of Labor statistics.
“The rest of the country is still growing faster than we are, and inflation is eating most of that away for us,” said Paul Isely, associate professor of economics in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University.
Life is a lot better, though, for government employees.
State, local and federal workers in the Grand Rapids area have seen increases roughly twice that of the private sector.
In Kent County, local government employees — anyone from teachers to street sweepers, police to city administrators — have seen average pay jump 29 percent since 2001.
Federal employees working in Grand Rapids received a 40 percent hike during the same period.
And private-sector workers: 15.6 percent — less than the inflation rate.
The cost of living in West Michigan is up 17.4 percent from 2001 to 2007.
Facing tough decisions
So while government employees are ahead of the game, the treadmill is moving faster for the 90 percent of workers in the private sector: They’re falling behind, if not falling off.
“Our income didn’t go up anywhere near as much as inflation,” economist Isely said, “and, for some particular things, it’s even worse.”
That’s not news to Stephanie Springfield, of Cedar Springs.
“Some weeks are tough,” said Springfield, 35. “Especially with the costs of home heating oil, fuel costs in the winter months are a little tougher.”
Jeff McCoy, an architectural draftsman from Muskegon, commutes daily to Grand Rapids.
“Gas is killing me,” said McCoy, 52. “I commute a long way, and the general cost of everything is a lot more than 10 years ago. Living expenses in general are chewing up every bit of extra money I have.”
Isely said big jumps in basic goods are forcing tough decisions about what we spend.
After gasoline spiked 20 percent from 2005 to 2006, it rose another 4 percent by April 2007 and more than 6 percent since then, he said.
Bread went up 12 percent from April 2006 to April 2007, and another 10 percent since.
Of course, averages always have an up for each down.
David Syrba, 45, of Walker, an installer for Vos Glass, is on the up side, thanks to the big construction projects on the Michigan Street Hill.
“I’m making as much money as I ever have,” Syrba said.
Overall, however, Isely said this is the bottom line: “The rest of the country is keeping up with inflation, and we’re not.”
Why is that?
First, West Michigan historically had lower pay levels, explained George Erickcek, senior analyst for Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo.
West Michigan never became strongly unionized, and much of Michigan’s wage growth was in union shops.
As a result, wages here were slower to increase, he said.
But within that limit — and counter to conventional economics in which higher education produces higher pay — jobs in the region paid relatively well for lower education levels, Isely explained, thanks to high productivity and high-value products. Local office-furniture jobs were one example.
But as productivity improved elsewhere, many jobs went away.
That leaves West Michigan with a problem: a work force accustomed to well-paying jobs without a higher education.
“We still have people thinking they can get good jobs with a high-school education and, increasingly, that’s not the case,” Erickcek said.
A recent study showed an “outrageous number of parents didn’t think college is necessary,” he said. And 2006 Census reports show West Michigan behind the state and nation in attaining higher education.
Noting the work of economist Lou Glazer, about how income potential is tied to education achievement, Erickcek added, “West Michigan is at a disadvantage. So it is no surprise because of that, that wages are growing slower.”
A second factor in slower wage growth, he said, is the trend of people with higher education seeking jobs in larger urban centers.
Then, consider that people who have lost manufacturing and other jobs are out looking for work, and wages stagnate, Isely pointed out.
“There’s not a lot of upward wage pressure right now in Michigan.”
Grand Rapids on top
That said, both economists see some light.
Of West Michigan communities, Erickcek said, Grand Rapids is probably best-suited to retain college-educated professionals.
And Isely said Grand Rapids’ job picture has actually improved some and leveled out since 2003 — while the rest of the state has yet to bottom out.
“We’ve replaced the majority of jobs we lost,” he said.
The best news: “For every four jobs we’ve lost in manufacturing, we’ve gained three jobs in health care and education,” Isely said. And those 15,000 replacement jobs pay almost as much as manufacturing.
Compare that to the Detroit area, which is down 240,000 jobs — out of the state’s decline of 300,000.
The job gains in that area? Only 4,500 spots in the leisure and hospitality industry, the casino business.
“And those jobs pay a lot less,” Isely said.
Local TV Stations don’t want to Adopt New FCC Rules
In 2005, the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID) organized a campaign to educate people about the License Renewal process that radio and TV station must go through every eight years in order to use the public airwaves. We told you how stations only have to pay $75 to renew their license with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and how limited their obligations are to the public. Now the local TV stations are fighting new FCC requirements.
According to a new media alert from the group Stop Big Media, the FCC has voted to make TV stations more accountable to their viewers by disclosing basic information about the ways they serve the public.
The new rules will help you monitor the media and make your voice heard. They require stations to form community advisory boards and have someone in the studio at all times for public safety alerts.
In addition, stations would have to post information on station ownership, educational and community programming, and public complaints on their Web sites. This information helps communities’ pressure stations to improve their programming — and even challenge their licenses at the FCC if they’re not meeting local needs.
Big Media’s lawyers and lobbyists are fighting rules like these. They are telling the FCC that no one cares about how their stations do business.
Prove the lobbyists wrong: tell the FCC you care about local media by participating in this campaign. Click here to send a message to the FCC.
