[Imc] Fwd: [MEDIA-L:3401] Urgent: We must protect media diversity.

[amy aidman]

Dear CU-IMC people,
Below is a message about a protest scheduled for  March 22 in DC at the 
FCC.  It would be great if we could organize a local event in solidarity 
with this one--on that Friday evening.  I am on the listserv for the DC 
events, so can forward any relevant information.  Also, it would be good if 
our IMC could endorse the events.  What's the procedure for moving this 
idea forward?
Thanks,
Amy Aidman



>>**PLEASE FORWARD THIS LETTER!!*
>>
>>Dear friends, colleagues, allies,
>>
>>If we believe in informed democracy, civil rights, community
>>empowerment, free speech, social justice and a diverse,
>>representative, creative and independent media culture, we must TAKE
>>ACTION NOW.
>>
>>Have you read today's news reports?
>>*Appellate Court Eases Limitations for Media Giants:
>>http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/20/business/media/20BROA.html
>>*Let The Mergers Begin:
>>http://www.forbes.com/home/2002/02/20/0220mediamerger.html
>>*FCC chief Powell believes in free market:
>>http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/02/06/fcc-powell.htm
>>
>>FCC Chair Michael Powell has stated on record that he has no concept
>>of "the public interest," that, as far as he can tell, there is no
>>such thing.
>>
>>On March 22, 2002, a diverse group of activists and media advocates
>>will gather at the FCC in Washington, D.C. to show to Powell, the FCC
>>and Congress that there IS such thing as the public interest, and,
>>more than that, there is an interested public that will not let big
>>media devour journalism, culture, the open Internet and the
>>possibilities of new technology.
>>
>>Please join us. Please show your support. Please spread this call to
>>action to all of your networks, colleagues and constituents, your
>>friends, students, neighbors. Please give your name to endorse this
>>march and bring a crowd with you to stand up for media democracy.
>>
>>More information follows.
>>
>>To offer your endorsement or for more information, please contact
>>Seeta Peña Gangadharan <seeta at nexsys.net>. (If we can set up a
>>soundsystem we may also be looking for speakers
)
>>
>>To help prepare for this event, please consider joining the
>>organizers' activism discussion list at: http://www.mediatank.org.
>>
>>PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!!!
>>
>>
>>-Aliza Dichter
>>++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>>http://www.mediatank.org/FaceOff.html
>>http://www.americanresurrection.com/Fcc.html
>>
>>The Angels of Public Interest
>>Will Descend Upon the FCC!
>>
>>Friday, March 22, from 3:00-6:00 PM
>>445 12th Street NW in Washington, DC
>>
>>
>>Hark Ye, Friend!
>>
>>Angels of Public Interest shall descend upon
>>Washington, DC three hours past noon on the 22nd day
>>of March in the vicinity of the Federal Communications
>>Commission at 445 12th Street NW. The Angels shall
>>resolutely teachth those who command power within the
>>FCC that Media and Communications Technology Should
>>Forever Serve People Over Profits.
>>
>>We encourage all Angels such as yourself to come to
>>the gathering dressed in your best Angel garb--halo,
>>wings, glitter, the whole nine yards.
>>
>>If your halo and wings are still at the dry cleaner,
>>perhaps you could at least keep with the Angel
>>color-scheme by wearing a solid white or black shirt.
>>Still, an Angel's presence and attitude are always more
>>important than his or her duds, so if you can't dress up,
>>don't worry about it. This is your time to shine!
>>
>>                Why Angels?
>>               Why the FCC?
>>               Our Demands
>>            Independent Media
>>                Get Involved
>>
>>
>>
>>I AM HUMAN. WHY ANGELS?
>>
>>FCC Chairman Michael Powell has said "The Market Is My
>>Religion." This most unwise and unrighteous mortal
>>made the mistake of claiming: "The night after I was
>>sworn in, I waited for a visit from the angel of the public
>>interest. I waited all night, but she did not come." Since
>>he had trouble seeing one Angel that dreadful night, on
>>March 22nd we shall descend upon him in droves.
>>
>>We suggest you question your mortality. Maybe you are
>>an Angel after all? If not, we're sure Michael Powell
>>would benefit from being in the company of humans,
>>too.
>>
>>For more information on Michael Powell, including
>>snapshots of him and his friends, visit his tax-payer
>>financed Internet home page at:
>>http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/powell/Welcome.html
>>
>>
>>
>>WHY SHOULD THIS ANGEL CARE ABOUT THE FCC?
>>
>>The Federal Communications Commission is a
>>government agency that could help make media
>>beautiful. Instead, the FCC using its power to collapse
>>control of the media into the hands of fewer and fewer
>>transnational corporations. Dig this...
>>
>>
>>Turning Media Oligopolies into Media Monopolies
>>
>>Just two days after the tragedies of September 11,
>>while most Americans were still trying to cope with the
>>shock and trauma, the never-say-die FCC decided to
>>"review" its own regulations on media cross-ownership.
>>A rule that currently prevents a corporation from owning
>>newspapers and television stations in the same city
>>(aka "market") is now under serious threat. If
>>overturned, locally-owned newspapers, and even
>>newspaper conglomerates like the New York Times
>>Company, Gannett and Knight-Ridder, could be bought
>>up by such community-friendly giants as General
>>Electric, Disney, Viacom and AOL/Time-Warner.
>>
>>This "review" could extend even further into areas like
>>limits on the size and scope of corporations'
>>broadcasting power. One current regulation says that a
>>single corporation can only own enough television
>>stations to reach 35% of American households. If
>>dismantled, a single television network like ABC could
>>potentially buy up the holdings of the few remaining
>>independents and its major competitors. "No more
>>'Seventh Heaven' in Cleveland, I'm afraid. The WB
>>affiliate's just been bought by Disney!"
>>
>>So really, what does this mean to you? A single
>>transnational corporation--with absolutely no allegiance
>>to your own community, only to its stockholders and
>>advertisers--could own and control the daily and weekly
>>newspapers you read, in addition to the television
>>stations you watch, the radio stations you listen to, the
>>movie theaters and video stores you frequent, the
>>magazines you peruse, the music labels you buy, the
>>internet service provider you use and even the sports
>>teams you root for. Okay, but so what?
>>
>>In a media monopoly, synergistic opportunities to make
>>more money (like stories about the Pets.com sock
>>puppet or the latest happenings on "Survivor") are
>>hyped to the point of making you nauseous. At the
>>same time, really important stories that just might
>>happen to threaten the monopoly's profits (like coverage
>>of the environmental impact of an advertiser's product,
>>or better yet, recent FCC policy decisions) get seriously
>>downplayed. That monopoly on information is bad for
>>you and it's bad for democracy.
>>
>>For more information on the government's plans to
>>eliminate the last remaining media ownership limits,
>>check out MediaChannel's in-depth guide explaining the
>>issues and steps you can take to get involved:
>>http://www.mediachannel.org/news/indepth/fcc
>>
>>
>>Slamming the Door Shut on an Open Access Internet
>>
>>Right now, any company that wants to be an internet
>>service provider can use America's telephone lines to do
>>so. It's called open access. If you want email or
>>web-hosting or instant messaging, you can use your
>>telephone lines to dial-up to Earthlink, AOL, Jimmy's
>>Internet Shack, and dozens of other companies willing
>>to sell those services to you.
>>
>>If you want high-speed internet access over your cable
>>lines, that is another story. Most cable operators are not
>>forced to share their cable lines with other broadband
>>companies. So, in many areas, if you want super-cool
>>cable internet access, there is only one show in town.
>>You pay their monopoly rates, and if they choose to do
>>so, the potential exists for them to limit the types of
>>websites you get to visit.
>>
>>Right now, major cable giants like Comcast (which is
>>trying to swallow up AT&T's cable operations to become
>>the largest cable company in the world) are pressing the
>>FCC hard to make sure that doesn't change. But it gets
>>worse...
>>
>>On Valentine's Day, the FCC showed its love for Big
>>Business by proposing that regional telephone
>>monopolies get to have complete control over their
>>"souped-up" telephone lines. If the regulation passes,
>>there will be no choice between telephone-based
>>high-speed internet providers just like there is no choice
>>between cable-based high-speed internet providers.
>>(Satellite providers? There are only two major ones in
>>the US, and they're trying to merge.)
>>
>>If the massive media conglomerates get their way, the
>>Internet will become as concentrated as television and
>>radio ownership, with everyone across the nation, and
>>the world, watching and listening to the same exact
>>things. Sites like this could quickly go bye-bye. That will
>>probably sit just fine with FCC Chair Michael Powell, who
>>has called public interest regulations "the oppressor."
>>But does it sit fine with you?
>>
>>To learn more about the threats to open access and
>>ways to combat them, check out the Center for Digital
>>Democracy at: http://www.democraticmedia.org
>>
>>
>>
>>THAT SOUNDS DEFENSIVE. DON"T YOU ANGELS HAVE
>>ANYTHING PRO-ACTIVE TO OFFER?
>>
>>Darn straight we do! For years, our mortal friends in
>>public interest groups, labor unions, civil rights
>>organizations, grassroots organizations, universities and
>>elsewhere have offered alternatives to media business
>>as usual.
>>
>>All Angels should bring their own ideas and demands to
>>the glorious March 22nd gathering: media democracy
>>means making room for everyone at the table. But if
>>you're in need of some ideas to chew on before then,
>>here are just a few of the pro-active proclamations and
>>commandments that will be issued that day:
>>
>>I. The FCC shall serve public interest by dismantling the
>>monopolistic concentration of media and communication
>>systems.
>>
>>II. The FCC shall serve public interest by promoting
>>information as a worldwide common good. This shall
>>include defending public airwaves from privatization and
>>dismantling any Intellectual Property Rights policies
>>that act to prohibit the sharing of knowledge.
>>
>>III. The FCC shall serve public interest by supporting
>>and encouraging the creation of media content that
>>respects pluralism and diversity of expression, and
>>balance in terms of gender, race, culture, language and
>>geographic region.
>>
>>IV. The FCC shall serve public interest by promoting the
>>creative, widespread use of interactive technologies in
>>such a way that these technologies are open to all and
>>do not further create new sources of social
>>fragmentation.
>>
>>V. The FCC shall serve public interest by defending civil
>>liberties and privacy from all invasive use of surveillance
>>technology.
>>
>>VI. The FCC shall serve public interest by banning
>>advertising during children's television programs and by
>>supporting the taxation on all advertising aimed at
>>adults.
>>
>>For more great ideas, check out the recommendations
>>for media rights coming out of the World Social Forum
>>at: http://www.comunica.org/cris/
>>
>>
>>
>>WHAT ABOUT INDEPENDENT MEDIA?
>>
>>Independent media rocks! We're not talking major label,
>>Top 40, Clear Channel rock. We're talking hard-core,
>>harp and heavenly-choir rock!
>>
>>The demands we will make of the FCC on March 22nd
>>and into the future will help defend independent media
>>and bring it further into the mainstream. Things like
>>open access internet accessible to all are good for
>>independent media, as are great diversity among
>>broadcasters, publishers and the like.
>>
>>If you're an independent media-making Angel, please
>>join us on March 22nd. We need your reporting, your
>>photography, your sketches and your poems and more!
>>
>>For more information on this "Independent Media,"
>>please visit: http://www.indymedia.org
>>
>>
>>
>>I'M IN. HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
>>
>>Organizer yourself and as many other Angels as you can
>>muster to descend upon the FCC at 445 12th Street NW
>>on Friday, March 22, 2002 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. Bring
>>whatever props and signs and street theatre you think
>>best! This glorious gathering should enlighten, but also
>>offer rapture! Go wild!
>>
>>If you want to be included in discussions with the
>>Organizing Angels, please sign up for the Media Activist
>>discussion list at: http://www.mediatank.org
>>
>>
>>