Deregulating the Regulators

On June 24th, 2004,representatives of musicians, television and radio workers, cable commisioners, and other intellectual property creaters all came together at the Portland Convention Center to discuss the FCC deregulation for ownership of media outlets. In attendence was local musician and president of AMF, local 99, Bruce Fife. He has written an account of that day as well as thoughts and suggestions on how to move forward

Preface—-On June 2, 2003, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to change several media ownership rules. The effect of this vote would have been to allow one company to own 3 TV stations, 8 Radio stations, the daily newspaper and the cable franchise in a city the size of Portland, as well as 100 other cities around the country. The predicted effect of this massive media consolidation would be the further limiting of free press. The town hall meetings are grassroots efforts, organized by citizens working with local and national organizations, inviting government officials to attend and listen to the publics’ response to the myriad of media issues overseen by the FCC.

June 24, 2004, 8:00 AM—-Today’s the day. Portland, Oregon is welcoming two of the Federal Communication Commissioners’ (FCC) to a “Future of Media” Town Hall. Heading to the office to wrap up last minute details, I mentally rewind the previous five weeks work that have led to today’s’ event. When we started pulling this together, none of the partners had worked together, few of us knew each other, and some of the organizations themselves, were an unknown quantity. It was a grass roots movement at its best. Everyone pooled their expertise, contacts and resources, without reservation, to create this important event.
It started with a Massachusetts group called Free Press (www.freepress.net). They have scheduled town halls in Portland, OR, Albuquerque, NM, Detroit, MI, and Miami, FL in an effort to provide communities with the opportunity to share with the FCC their ideas and concerns regarding media issues. Though not an official event like the San Antonio, TX, and Monterey, CA hearings, all testimony and panel remarks will become part of the official record.
It was a literal phone tree that brought us together and conference calls, emails and meetings became our way of life. The key players included City Club of Portland, American Federation of Musicians, Local 99, Money in Politics Research Action Project (MiPRAP), Communications Workers of America, Local 7901(CWA), Mount Hood Cable Regulatory Commission (MHCRC) and Jobs for Justice. Our job was to create and produce this “Town Hall” to be attended by two of the five FCC Commissioners’, Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps. The others were invited, but chose not to attend.
Two panels of industry experts will testify and answer questions from the commissioners’, followed by testimony from industry people and the general public. Panelists included David Leiken, owner of Double Tee Concerts, Oregon’s largest independent concert promoter, L.C. Hansen, KBOO community radio board member, Andrea Cano and Michael Brown, low power FM radio experts, Michael Powell, Powell’s City of Books, and others. The largest cable provider in the US, Comcast, was represented by their Oregon general manager, and a Clear Channel representative was slated to appear, but was stranded in LA.

1:00 PM—-I’m headed across town on my way to the Oregon Convention Center. As I flip through the radio stations, looking for something interesting, I land on an Air America newscast, ironically, a Clear Channel station. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. The courts have just thrown out the FCC decision of June 2003. Two days earlier the Senate had rejected it. Now the courts. The public has sent a clear message since the beginning. Is the FCC hearing it yet?

3:30 PM—-Press conference time. The mood in the VIP room is one of contained ebullition. The court decision has pulled in some national press, and fueled the interest level of the local press. One of our biggest challenges was to get the local mainstream media to care. Maybe their attitude was best summed up by the reporter who described the event as a chance to slam the media, instead of an opportunity to educate the FCC and the media regarding the balanced coverage citizens really want to see, hear and read.
As the commissioners sit down, their excitement is obvious. Their vote against further deregulation has been justified. To paraphrase Commissioner Copps, the people, the Senate, and now the Courts have all come to the same conclusion. Go back to the drawing board, and do it right.

5:30 PM—-We’re getting ready to start. The real worries are over as the room is starting to fill up. All told, as many as 500 people will attend, with just fewer than 100 presenting testimony. Everything will come off without a hitch, excepting the Clear Channel representative not showing. I was really looking forward to the fireworks between Clear Channel and David Leiken of Double Tee Concerts. He goes head to head with them, knows all the scams, and how they’re domination and vertical integration of the radio, promotion and concert industries smacks of blatant antitrust violations.
The last person to testify finishes just after 10:30 PM. The Commissioners, to their credit, listen intently, take notes, have staff follow up with especially pertinent testimonies and even humor the occasional “off topic” testifier. This may be a “road show” they’re on, but the seriousness with which they have approached it is remarkable.

Debriefing—-We’re all exhausted, but slightly giddy as we analyze, interpret, celebrate and look forward. The Free Press representative informs us that this is the most sophisticated testimony the commissioners have heard to date. Part of that success can be traced back to a pre-event, “Our Democracy, Our Airwaves” held at Portland State University on the previous Saturday. The coalition partners gave presentations, answered questions and held focus groups to educate attendees about the various media issues and to assist with testimonials.
Now the real work begins. The coalition that was formed is going to remain intact and continue the work to keep the public informed, respond to their concerns and desires, and communicate those needs to the FCC, Legislators and other significant players in the effort to shape a healthy media future. It is the FCC’s job to strike a balance between the public interest needs and corporate profits. This balance, mandated by federal law, can best be achieved by maintaining localism, competition and diversity in all media, be it print, radio, TV, cable or the internet.
New life has been breathed into the myriad of issues surrounding the media in Portland and the US, and it should be obvious to all parties that people want the “public” put back in the “public airwaves”.

Epilogue—-If you would like to join the coalition and play a role in the continuing efforts, you can contact Bruce Fife at the Musicians Union. Key to our efforts will be actions such as FCC license challenges to those stations that are not providing mandated “localism”.

Bruce Fife is the president of local 99, AFM.
You can contact him at 503-235-8791, or at bfife@afm99.org.