13th
FCC Hearing in Columbus Ohio - Mar. 7
Hundreds of people came to testify and learn about the future of the broadcast industry. Three commissioners were present along with a panel of 8 Ohio residents with many years of experience. At one time broadcast companies had to demonstrate community involvement to earn the right to renew their FCC license. No more.
The event is covered here.
Just to add my experience: I wrote up remarks about how difficult it is to get the media to cover local events. When I finally had my chance, other people’s testimony had so filled my head, that I barely had a chance to make my planned remarks. I mentioned
- that many people still don’t have wideband Internet access.The FCC should recommend that Congress come up with a plan. Most of the shows available over the airways are available via podcast.
- that when John Conyers held hearings about the 2004 election, Stephanie Miller had people call in to report the outcome for the whole country to hear.
- that the control of the media is not driven by economics, but politics. I pointed out that the Washington Times gets 10s of million dollar infusions every year:
I barely got started on my prepared notes, when the clock ran out, so I turned my notes over to Commissioner Cobb.
I got inspired to start this blog to make it easier for people to listen to Air America and other progressive shows over the Internet. We still need to fight against consolidation of the media. Diverse views are not getting the air time they deserve. When stations go digital it will be possible to run multiple streams over a single frequency. This should make the operating costs more affordable. Perhaps Congress should pass legislation mandating that some of those additional streams should be placed under local control.
In the meantime, people can still listen to most radio shows by subscribing to the RSS. Each day you can choose the show of your choice. On weekends you can hear Politically Direct and Ring of Fire. On weekdays you can choose Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes, or the Young Turks. Best of the Left comes out once a week. It is a little delayed, but it usually has clips based on a common theme that is quite educational. I download that show to my mp3 player and have $20 PC sound systems set up around the house. I can also listen over the car sound system or through earphones while exercising or shopping.
