kerry's standing up to special interests = media blackout

[Pez]

Kerry and Moyers: Big Media Threaten Democracy


Sen. Kerry has been a leader on issues relating to media ownership and reform. He said the watershed FCC decision on media ownership “represents the continuation of a conscious pattern--a new kind of institutionalized unfairness…The FCC should do more than rubberstamp the business plans of narrow economic interests.” Kerry led the fight in the Senate to overturn this wanton power grab.

It’s no accident that several leading Kerry supporters, including Rep. Louise Slaughter and satirist Al Franken, were present for the Media Reform Conference in Madison this past weekend.

The conference keynote address was given by Bill Moyers. He cited three trends in recent years that collectively threaten our democracy: 1.) unnecessary secrecy by the Bush Administration; 2.) large media conglomerates that blatantly pursue corporate self-interest under the rubric of “news coverage”; 3.) and the rise of a pervasive right-wing partisan press. In a scholarly style, Moyers traced the great history of brave American journalism serving democracy rather than the narrow corporate interests referenced by Sen. Kerry. Moyers promised to post this great speech on his web-site. Stay tuned.

[blm]

1. Staying tuned, but....

can you say anything more about what happened?

[pruner]

2. has Al Franken endorsed Kerry?

as far as I know he hasn't endorsed anyone. he's done fundraisers for Dean & Gephardt, and has offered to help all the Dem candidates.

calling him a leading Kerry supporter is more than a bit misleading.

[Pez]

3. yeah, franken supports all the candidates...

...and in this context it's relevant i think :-)

[Pez]

4. kerry takin' on the special interests for small businesses!

Speaker: Senator John Forbes Kerry (MA)
Title: Commission Decision May Violate Laws Protecting Small Businesses; Kerry to File Resolution of Disapproval
Location: Washington, DC
Date: 06/02/2003
Nothing is more important in a democracy than public access to debates and information, which lift up our discourse and give Americans an opportunity to make honest informed choices. Today's wrongheaded vote by the Republican members of the FCC to loosen media ownership rules shows a dangerous indifference to the consolidation of power in the hands of a few large entities rather than promoting diversity and independence at the local level. The FCC should do more than rubber stamp the business plans of narrow economic interests.

Today's vote is a complete dereliction of duty. The Commissioners are well aware that these rules greatly influence the competitive structure of the industry and protect the public's access to multiple sources of information and media. It is the Commission's responsibility to ensure that the rules serve our national goals of diversity, competition, and localism in media. With today's vote, they shirked that responsibility and have dismissed any serious discussion about the impact of media consolidation on our own democracy.

[blm]

9. Good reminder.

People forget who does heavy lifting for progressives while they're rewarding the 11 month old populist.

[Pez]

5. kerry takin' on special interests to promote diversity in media!

Speaker: Senator John Forbes Kerry (MA)
Title: Disapproving Federal Communications Commission Broadcast Media Ownership Rule
Location: Washington, DC
Date: 09/16/2003
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
SENATE
PAGE S11501
Sept. 16, 2003

Disapproving Federal Communications Commission Broadcast Media Ownership Rule

(At the request of Mr. DASCHLE, the following statement was ordered to be printed in the RECORD.)

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote on a joint resolution, of which I am a proud cosponsor, to disapprove the Federal Communications Commission's June 2, 2003, rules designed to loosen restrictions on broadcast media ownership. It is the Commission's responsibility to ensure that media ownership rules serve our national goals of diversity, competition and localism. Unfortunately, the Commission's June 2, 2003, ruling fails to meet this standard.

The resolution before us today would reverse the FCC's decision to change the national television ownership cap from 35 percent to 45 percent, a decision that threatens local and independent voices in television. The television industry is undergoing rapid consolidation as a handful of national networks have acquired local stations across the country. I am concerned that when local stations are purchased by a national network, independent voices are lost in the media
marketplace. Locally owned and operated stations are more likely to be responsive to local needs, interests and values than those stations owned and operated by national networks. Indeed many local stations are small businesses that drive innovative competition. A system of concentrated station ownership will trend toward nationalized programming aimed primarily at maximizing revenue with less concern for local interests and less room for competition.

The resolution before us today will also reverse the FCC's decision to significantly loosen restrictions on cross-ownership of broadcast stations and newspapers within single markets. The cross-ownership rule is intended to increase or at least maintain the number of independent editorial voices in a community. This is especially important in smaller communities where citizens have fewer media operations covering local matters. While there is scant evidence that weakening this rule will result in significant economic benefit, leading academics and media experts have argued that doing so will dangerously reduce the venues for independent public discourse.

I am also concerned with the process by which the FCC conducted these proceedings. This media ownership rulemaking is among the most important the FCC has undertaken, and it has garnered unprecedented public interest. Despite this, the Commission moved forward with dramatic rule changes without first taking public comment on a specific proposal. The Commission's outreach was simply insufficient. All parties concerned would have been better served if the Commission published a specific proposal and then allowed for a period of public comment before promulgating any rule changes.

The Commission's first responsibility is to ensure diversity, competition and localism. The Commission has no responsibility to facilitate the business plans of the major networks or any other narrow economic interest. I strongly support the disapproval resolution before us today.·

[blm]

13. grazie...I needed this.

.

[Pez]

6. dean on the media

The Candidates on the Media

By Williams Cole | 10.17.03

...

Howard Dean
It’s to be expected that Dean is a great proponent of all things wired. Credited with revolutionizing campaigning and fundraising on the Internet, he knows his constituency well. He’s said that “universal Internet access should be a federal goal” and associated himself with Laurence Lessig, a main proponent of open source and the public domain. But while his online campaign, blogging and talk of bottom-up strategy is considerable, he has skirted taking a position on the legislation posed to extend copyright, perhaps because many of his supporters are executives in the entertainment industry. Dean also is very critical of the FCC deregulation, saying that it was “one of the foremost issues on citizens’ minds” and that the proposed actions would threaten free speech and free discussion. He praised congressional delay of the deregulation in mid-September, endorses a permanent reversal and even states that “we need to consider going even further than that by reregulating media ownership.”

[JohnKleeb]

7. I read what my candiate had to say on this and I liked it

Read your candiate, Mr. Kerry's view and it was good to me.

[Pez]

8. kucinich on the media!

Dennis Kucinich

He is the only candidate to come out openly in favor of copyright reform with concrete policy ideas. He has written extensively on his blog—and also was a guest on Lessig’s—about media concentration, stating that if he were president he would use the Justice Department to break up media monopolies and require all FCC license holders to provide free airtime to candidates for federal office. He mentions “public airwaves” and the Federal Communications Act of 1934, which set specific responsibilities for broadcast license holders to serve “in the public interest, convenience and necessity.” He also says that, as president, he would appropriate more money for public TV and radio. He is against prosecutions for file sharing, embraces open source and Lessig’s Creative Commons initiative and is critical of restrictive “proprietary” licenses. He also is very outspoken on the digital divide and privacy issues related to the Internet, saying that the Patriot Act is “not reflective of Jeffersonian Democracy. This is Kafka’s The Trial writ large.”

------------------------------------------------

a man you want on your side :-D

[JohnKleeb]

11. Thanks for returning the favor

I am impressed with him again. I heard that Clark for reinstating the Fairness Doctrine which I liked, but then I see that my guy who I didnt know his views on this, is for more. Thanks again. IIRC reading Kerry's right, he had a good one too, that is position.

[blm]

12. We liberals gotta stick together.

;)))))

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

14. Funny where the bold goes, isn't it?

Howard Dean
It’s to be expected that Dean is a great proponent of all things wired. Credited with revolutionizing campaigning and fundraising on the Internet, he knows his constituency well. He’s said that “universal Internet access should be a federal goal” and associated himself with Laurence Lessig, a main proponent of open source and the public domain. But while his online campaign, blogging and talk of bottom-up strategy is considerable, he has skirted taking a position on the legislation posed to extend copyright, perhaps because many of his supporters are executives in the entertainment industry. Dean also is very critical of the FCC deregulation, saying that it was “one of the foremost issues on citizens’ minds” and that the proposed actions would threaten free speech and free discussion. He praised congressional delay of the deregulation in mid-September, endorses a permanent reversal and even states that “we need to consider going even further than that by reregulating media ownership.”


John Kerry
He was one of the most outspoken candidates regarding the FCC rollback of regulations, but it didn’t help him as much as other candidates. He said the FCC decision “represents the continuation of a conscious pattern—a new kind of institutionalized unfairness” and that “Maverick Republican Teddy Roosevelt understood the dangers of corporate consolidation, but the point seems lost on Mr. Bush.” He was quick to work in the Senate to nullify the FCC’s vote, saying, “The FCC should do more than rubberstamp the business plans of narrow economic interests.” Kerry has sponsored broadband tax credit legislation, was an original supporter of the E-Rate and said the FCC and the Bush administration had shown a “disheartening” lack of interest in closing “the very real digital divide.” He supported the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

Check out his personal broadband and telecommunications holdings.

[blm]

15. At least he's for fixing the parts that aren't working out

the way they were promised.

Kerry on the media at Harvard in 2000:
http://www.teachingdemocracy.gse.harvard.edu/kerryvideo.htm

[blm]

10. Information bump.

.

[blm]

16. bump

.

[mitchum]

17. kick