CHICAGO MEDIA ACTION ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER: August 1, 2003 http://www.chicagomediaaction.org (1) WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MEDIA POLITICS? More good news on the media-deregulation-rollback front in Congress. For one, the House Appropriations committee voted 40-25 on July 16 to override the "loosened" network ownership cap. 11 of those 40 votes were Republicans. What's more, the seldom-used "resolution of disapproval"--the parliamentary maneuver to force an override vote of the FCC without presidential approval--has been added to the Senate calendar. 30 votes were needed to force the resolution to the Senate; it got 35 votes on July 16, including votes from seven Republicans. It only needs 51 votes in the Senate to pass, and if it does, it would move automatically to the House calendar and bypass a number of opposition committees. Even though the House on July 23 rejected the Hinchley-Price bill (which would have overturned the whole FCC ruling) 254-174, the bill wasn't designed for passage but to win a high number of votes in defeat. But one bill which rolled back the TV ownership cap back from 45% to 35% did pass the House easily on July 23, 400-21. (2) WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH CMA AND LOCALLY? Chicago Media Action, with Chicago Indymedia and Redline Radio, held its July 4 celebration of independent media called "We, the Media". At least 130 people came to see four bands, two film showings, paint two murals, and pick up the 2003 Chicago Independent Media Guide. Read more: http://chicago.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=28195&group=webcast Chicago Media Action is working to secure the auditorium of the Skokie Public Library to screen some films that don't get much of a hearing. Once we finalize the schedule, we will of course pass the details along to you of the films, the times, and the location. Chicago Media Action is also finalizing a proposal for a regular CMA-produced radio show. More details on this to come as they become available. If you are interested in these efforts, or would like to get more involved in CMA's work (which includes suggestions for this newsletter), please feel free to contact us (contact information is below). (3) RANDOM MEDIA FACTOID From clearchannel.com/ci.php: "[Clear Channel Communications] operates approximately 1,225 radio and 39 television stations in the United States and has equity interests in over 240 radio stations internationally. Clear Channel also operates approximately 776,000 outdoor advertising displays, including billboards, street furniture and transit panels around the world." (4) SUGGESTED WEBSITE Clear Channel Sucks, http://www.clearchannelsucks.org ClearChannelSucks.org is a free speech website dedicated to educating the public about entertainment giant Clear Channel. (5) RANDOM MEDIA QUOTE "Truth and corporate profits go together like Tabasco sauce on vanilla ice cream. -- Saul Landau, in a ZNet commentary about Clear Channel, July 5, 2003 (6) ANNOUNCEMENTS Chicago Media Action will be having an information table at the WLUW Record Fair on Saturday, August 2, 2156 W. Fulton. See www.wluwrecordfair.org for more information about the event. Be sure to save two dates in upcoming months: (1) September 11, 2003; we are organizing a public screening of "Aftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11" by the Guerrilla News Network (www.gnn.tv). (2) October 17, 2003, which will be International Media Democracy Day; our plans for this date are still in formation. There's still talk of having a protest at a Michael Powell-connected firm with offices in Chicago. Watch for more details. Chicago Media Action holds twice-monthly meetings on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. CMA's next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 12, at 6:30pm at the Chicago Newspaper Guild in downtown Chicago (36 S. Wabash, Suite 1400, near the Monroe Red Line station). *** *** *** *** *** *** *** This is the monthly electronic newsletter of Chicago Media Action, a Chicago activist group devoted to media issues. Chicago Media Action, P.O. Box 14140, Chicago IL 60614-0140 Call toll-free 1-866-260-7198. Web: www.chicagomediaaction.org; email: cma@chicagomediaaction.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, simply send an email requesting removal to mailinglist@chicagomediaaction.org