CHICAGO MEDIA ACTION NEWSLETTER, August 1, 2004 http://www.chicagomediaaction.org In this month's newsletter... * Upcoming meetings in Chicago and Detroit * CMA goes public with a content analysis of Chicago's main PBS affiliate * Media politics report: Low Power FM progress, Michael Powell's whereabouts * Media factoid: TribuneCo asks court to repeal law it's currently breaking * Media website: Watching FOX news so you don't have to (1) ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPCOMING EVENTS * Chicago Media Action is organizing a meeting to figure out what to do next in its WTTW campaign. The meeting will be Tuesday, August 10, 2004, from 6pm to 8:45 pm, at The Lincoln-Belmont Library, 1659 W. Melrose (just a block away from the Paulina brown line stop; two blocks from Belmont; a block from Lincoln). Spread the word. * The Chicago Cable Commission has imposed a series of restrictive public comment policies at commission meetings. The Commission is now requiring comments to be submitted in writing in advance of the meeting, with oral comments limited to no more than two minutes, and comments deemed "redundant or irrelevant" may be disqualified at the commission's discretion. You may want to give your public comment about the Commission's new public comment policy by contacting the Chicago Cable Commission (phone: 312-744-4052, fax: 312-744-5440, or email: cable@cityofchicago.org), or by attending the next public hearing on Tuesday, August 10, at 11 am, in the basement of the Harold Washington Library Center. * Save the date: Tuesday, September 14, 2004. Across the country, unofficial town meetings on the Future of Media are being held. Up to now, media activism has been focused on defensive matters; how to prevent things from getting worse. These meetings are about going on the offensive: how do we make things better. The midwest will have a Future of Media meeting in Detroit, Michigan, on September 14. CMA is hoping to send a contingent to Detroit to take part. FCC Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps are expected to attend. Contact CMA if you're interested in going to Detroit. Learn more about the hearings here: http://www.freepress.net/future/ (2) WHAT'S NEW WITH CHICAGO MEDIA ACTION? * On July 19, Chicago Media Action made public its first media analysis, this one devoted to Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW's flagship public affairs program, Chicago Tonight. The study revealed that the topics, sources and views aired on Chicago Tonight, consistently cater to the interests of advertisers and white affluent Chicagoans while ignoring news and perspectives of interest to other constituencies. The study, "Chicago Tonight: Elites, Affluence and Advertising", covers thirty episodes of Chicago Tonight, twenty of which aired in September 2003, and ten episodes that aired in January and February 2004. The study is online in PDF format here: http://www.chicagomediaaction.org/pdffiles/WTTW_study.pdf The study has already garnered considerable media attention, including two mentions each by the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Reader, a report on Chicago's NPR affiliate, two discussions on Chicago radio station WZRD, as well as considerable buzz within the national media activist community. More media coverage is expected. (3) WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MEDIA POLITICS? * The Federal Communications Commission held its latest localism hearing in Monterey, California on July 21. FCC chair Michael Powell didn't attend the hearing; Powell also skipped the localism hearing in Rapid City, South Dakota, which CMA attended. The media democracy movement did attend and did bring considerable attention in favor of sound policies. And speaking of Powell, Michael Powell now has a blog, complete with public comment: http://www.alwayson-network.com/comments.php?id=4830_0_3_0_C * The Senate Commerce Committee took up the issue of expanding Low Power FM. Illinois activists notified Illinois Senator (and Commerce Committee member) Peter Fitzgerald on the issue. The work paid off: On July 22, the Senate Commerce Committee approved the expansion of low-power FM, despite a last-minute tactic by former broadcaster Conrad Burns calling for another $800,000 study of the issue which fortunately got voted down. The matter is now expected to come for a vote before the full Senate. * The FCC has released its Notice of Inquiry on Localism. The FCC is interested in information regarding the relationship between broadcasters and their communities, political broadcasting, underserved audiences, reporting of emergency situations, Payola, sponsorship identification, national playlists, and license renewals. These are all very important subjects that the public now has an opportunity to weigh in on. Take the time to review the Notice and comment on any areas about which you have concerns: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-129A1.doc (4) MEDIA FACTOID OF THE MONTH In July 2004, Chicago's very own Tribune Company asked a federal appeals court to allow newspaper-television cross-ownership in big-market cities (the vaunted "cross-ownership" rule) -- with "big-market cities" being defined as cities with at least nine TV stations. Read more: http://www.freepress.net/news/article.php?id=4170 It so happens that the Tribune is violating the cross-ownership rule in the two biggest markets in the nation -- New York and Los Angeles. The longer the cross-ownership rule remains on the books, the longer the Tribune company leaves itself vulnerable to legal (perhaps antitrust) actions, never mind restricting access to new markets to continue its profit growth. (5) MEDIA QUOTE OF THE MONTH "The future of [the FCC's] media ownership rules is clear as mud. That's frustrating to media companies such as Viacom, Gannett, News Corp. and the parent of this newspaper, Tribune Co., which don't know whether or when they'll be allowed to expand into more markets." -- unsigned editorial in the Chicago Tribune, July 17, 2004, reacting to a Philadelphia court's overturning the FCC's media ownership rule changes of June 2003, including repeal of the cross-ownership rule (6) THIS MONTH'S WEBSITE http://www.newshounds.us This website offers consistent real-time criticism of content on the Fox News Channel; the channel has faced increasing criticism, particularly in the wake of some 3,000 MoveOn-sponsored screenings of the Robert Greenwald film Outfoxed (www.outfoxed.org). *** *** *** *** *** *** *** This is an email from Chicago Media Action, a Chicago activist group devoted to media issues. Chicago Media Action, P.O. 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