May, 11 2011, 01:38pm EDT
Free Press Cheers New Bill to Protect Community Media
WASHINGTON
Free Press today endorsed a bill designed to prevent discriminatory practices by cable operators and to ensure a level playing field for community voices in an increasingly consolidated cable industry. The bipartisan Community Access Preservation Act (HR 1746), co-sponsored by Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio), would strengthen public, educational, and government access television stations and community media centers around the country.
Craig Aaron, president and CEO of Free Press, made the following statement:
"Public access channels provide a vital service to our communities. The training, tools and technology at community media centers put the power of media making in local hands and give voice to pressing local issues. This bipartisan bill helps ensure that big cable companies can't abandon their public interest mandate to support community media. As the media landscape shifts, and many corporate outlets abandon community service, we need to encourage more truly local news, information and diverse programming. This legislation is an important contribution to that effort."
Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.
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Aiming to confront "a root cause of many of America's fundamental economic problems," U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday unveiled a bill to require corporations to balance growth with fair treatment of their employees and consumers.
The Massachusetts Democrat introduced the Accountable Capitalism Act, explaining that for much of U.S. history, corporations reinvested more than half of their profits back into their companies, working in the interest of employees, customers, business partners, and shareholders.
In the 1980s, said Warren corporations began placing the latter group above all, adopting "the belief that their only legitimate and legal purpose was 'maximizing shareholder value.'"
That view was further cemented in 1997 when the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group that represents chief executives across the country, declared that the "principal objective of a business enterprise is to generate economic returns to its owners."
Now, Warren said in a policy document, "around 93% of American-held corporate shares are owned by just 10% of our nation's richest households, while more than 40% of American households hold no shares at all."
"This means that corporate America's commitment to 'maximizing shareholder return' is a commitment to making the rich even richer, while leaving workers and families behind," said Warren in a statement.
The Accountable Capitalism Act would require:
- Corporations with more than $1 billion in annual revenue to obtain a federal charter as a "United States corporation," obligating executives to consider the interests of all stakeholders, not just investors;
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Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) also welcomed the rulings and sent "a big thank you to Lina Khan and her team at the FTC."
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