CHICAGO MEDIA ACTION NEWSLETTER: September 2, 2005 http://www.chicagomediaaction.org In this newsletter: * Public access TV nationwide under threat in Congress * CMA outreach at two Chicago PBS-related public events * Chicago's Clear Channel music operations changes its name, and hopes nobody notices * Paul Harvey: Proud imperialist? * Possible Illinois TV license challenges? (1) ANNOUNCEMENTS * All of the television broadcasters in Illinois have their broadcast licenses up for renewal in 2005, and Chicago Media Action is in the process of pursuing one or more planned license challenges. We are looking for organizations which might be interested to co-sponsor any possible license challenges. If you're part of an organization which would like to join in this effort, or might be interested, or would like to learn more, contact CMA (respond to this email, or call 1-866-260-7198). * Three bills now before consideration in Congress -- H.R.3146, S.1349 and S.1504 -- would prove disastrous to local public access broadcasting. We strongly encourage you to contact your elected representatives in Congress and urge them to oppose these bills. One resource for contacting Congress, of many to use, is here: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ To learn more about what's at stake, visit the website of the Alliance for Community Media: http://www.alliancecm.org/ Common Cause has also announced a campaign on the issue. Take action today: http://www.commoncause.org/ShakeuptheFCC http://www.commoncause.org/ForwardFCCAction (2) WHAT'S NEW WITH CMA? * CMA members picketed WTTW's 50th anniversary gala [WTTW is Chicago's main PBS affilate] at Milennium Park in Chicago on August 20, and at the August 28 "WTTW Kids Fun and Run" fundraiser in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Our signs read "Elites, Affluence and Advertising" and "ads are unhealthy for children and other living things". CMA distributed a large number of educational fliers at these events explaining the case for a major reform of public broadcasting both locally and nationally. Both events were attended by thousands of people, and the actions were deemed successful. * CMA made its Free Speech TV debut on the week of August 22 as the satellite channel aired CMA's July 13 forum. (3) WHAT'S NEW IN MEDIA POLITICS? * Clear Channel Communications announced a name change in its Chicago music operations, which will now be called Elevated Concerts: http://www.chicagomediaaction.org/news.php?id=345 * Big Media buyers and planners don't want ownership rule changes anymore, according to a poll by Media Life magazine. (Except maybe for the Tribune Company, which is still violating some of the rules.) Read more: http://www.freepress.net/news/9978 * Former FCC chair Michael Powell has gotten a new job -- Senior Advisor at Providence Equity Partners, a telecommunications investment firm. Read more: http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/606 * A set of ten DVDs from the 2005 National Conference for Media Reform, held in May in St. Louis, is now available exclusively for public access cablecast for just $25 for the whole set. To learn more, contact Chicago's CAN TV (www.cantv.org, 312-738-1400) or Access Tucson (access.tucson.org, 520-624-9833). (4) FACTOID OF THE MONTH * To quote an article from Slate: "Movie studios' biggest profit center is not theatrical movies, or even DVD sales; it is TV licensing" -- amounting to some $17.7 billion in revenues in 2004. Read more: http://www.slate.com/id/2124078 (5) QUOTE OF THE MONTH "We [Americans] didn't come this far because we are made of sugar candy. Once upon a time we elbowed our way onto and into this continent by giving smallpox infected blankets to Native Americans. Yes, that was biological warfare. And we used every other weapon we could get our hands on to grab this land from whomever and we grew prosperous. And yes, we greased the skids with the sweat of slaves." -- radio broadcaster Paul Harvey, on his June 23, 2005 radio newscast. Read commentary: http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-08/07landau.cfm http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2569 (6) SUGGESTED WEBSITE http://www.youthmediacouncil.org/news.html "Launched in April 2001, the Youth Media Council is a Bay Area-based youth organizing, leadership development, media capacity-building and watchdog project dedicated to developing youth-led strategies for media justice." Be sure to check out their short film about media activism. (7) MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS * The next CMA meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13, at 6:30pm, at 3411 W. Diversey, in Chicago (at the intersection of Milwaukee, Diversey, and Kimball, near the Logan Square blue line stop). We encourage all those interested to attend. * Neighbors for Peace, which has partnered with CMA in the past, is holding a film series at the Evanston Public Library. Planned films include "The Oil Factor" on Saturday, September 17, and "Peace Propaganda & the Promised Land: The U.S. Media & the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" on Sunday, October 9. All films begin at 2pm. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** This is an email from 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: http://www.chicagomediaaction.org E-mail: cma@chicagomediaaction.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, simply send an email requesting removal to mailinglist@chicagomediaaction.org