| SAN FRANCISCO
- May 27 - On Thursday, May 29--just four days before the Federal Communications
Commission votes on a proposal to radically deregulate the media--free
speech advocates and media consumers will protest at Clear Channel
Communications radio stations in seven cities to draw attention to the
problems that resulted from the last media deregulation. *If you ever
wondered why it seems like the same seven songs are playing on every radio
station in the United States, you can thank Clear Channel Communications and
its take-over of radio stations after the 1996 media deregulation. We can't
let the same thing happen with television stations and newspapers, and
that's just what could happen if the FCC gives more power to the media
companies on June 2,*said Andrea Buffa, who works with Global Exchange and
Media Alliance, two of the groups organizing the Clear Channel protests.
The Clear Channel protests are planned for New York City, Washington, DC,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Portland, and Mt. Pleasant, South
Carolina. They are part of a multi-pronged effort by free speech advocates
and media consumers to stop the FCC from approving a radical deregulation of
the media that will allow huge media corporations to own more television
stations, radio stations, and newspapers, endangering media diversity and
independence. FCC Chairman Michael Powell, Colin Powell's son, is pushing
for June 2 vote on the media deregulation proposal, despite opposition from
an unlikely coalition of liberal and conservative groups that oppose giving
more power to a small number of media companies.
Clear Channel was chosen as the target of street protests because it
exemplifies the problems that can arise from media deregulation. After the
passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Clear Channel gobbled up
hundreds of radio stations throughout the country and now owns more than
1200 stations nationwide. Not only is the company the world's largest radio
broadcaster, it's also the world largest concert promoter and billboard
advertising firm.
Clear Channel's monopolistic practices have accelerated the homogenization
of the airwaves. The company promotes cookie-cutter style radio that has
urban stations throughout the country seemingly playing the same
focus-group-selected songs. It shuts out independent artists who can't
afford to go through high-priced middlemen and is responsible for taking the
practice of voice tracking to new heights. Voice tracking creates brief,
computer-assisted voice segments that attempt to fool the listener into
thinking that a program is locally produced, when in fact the same content
is being broadcast to upwards of 75 stations nationwide from a central site.
Clear Channel also uses its stations to promote its conservative political
agenda. After September 11, the company came to the public's attention when
executives circulated a list of blacklisted songs including John Lennon's
*Imagine*and Cat Stevens' *Peace Train*. This year Clear Channel became one
of the first media companies in recent times to sponsor a political
rally‹the company sponsored pro-war rallies in cities around the country
before and during the war on Iraq. Another "Rally for America" was organized
in Huntington, West Virginia for Memorial Day weekend.
*If the FCC passes Michael Powell's proposed new media rules, companies like
Clear Channel will be given even more control over the public airwaves than
they already have. Literally a handful of large corporations already
dominate 80% of what the American public sees and hears. Our democracy can't
afford this constriction of public debate,* said Gael Murphy of CodePink,
Women for Peace, a group that is organizing several of the Clear Channel
protests. Other groups are Global Exchange, Citizen Works, Media Alliance,
United for Peace and Justice NY, Prometheus Radio Project, Free Press, the
Youth Media Council, and Democracy Rising.
The following rules are being considered for modification or elimination by
the FCC:
*Newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership prohibition. Prevents broadcast TV
companies from buying newspapers in communities in which they have TV
stations.
*National TV ownership limit. Limits the number of local broadcast stations
any one broadcast company can own to systems serving 35% of the TV
households in the U.S.
*Local TV multiple ownership. Allows a broadcast company to own two TV
stations in the same market only if at least one of those stations is ranked
below the top four stations and there are at least eight independently
owned-and-operating, full-power TV stations in that market.
*Radio/TV Cross-Ownership restriction. Prevents one company from owning both
a radio station and a television station in the same market.
Clear Channel protest website
www.unitedforpeace.org/stopthefcc
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