WHEREAS, Freedom of the press and public access to diverse media are prerequisites for a functioning democracy; and
WHEREAS, The broadcast airwaves are owned commonly by the public, and should be managed to serve the public interest; and
WHEREAS, The public interest is best served by the availability of a broadly diverse range of viewpoints; and
WHEREAS, Media diversity is seriously threatened by further consolidation of media ownership in an already highly concentrated market; and
WHEREAS, Deregulation of radio ownership rules under the Telecommunications Act caused unprecedented consolidation, dramatically decreasing competition; and
WHEREAS, Hispanics or Latinos comprise 14 percent of the entire U.S. population, but only own a total of 15 stations, or 1.11 percent of all stations; and
WHEREAS, Blacks or African Americans comprise 13 percent of the entire U.S. population but only own a total of 18 stations, or 1.3 percent of all stations; and
WHEREAS, Asians comprise 4 percent of the entire U.S. population but only own a total of 6 stations, or 0.44 percent of all stations; and
WHEREAS, The Federal Communications Commission is currently accepting public comment on media ownership rules, following an attempt by the agency to significantly weaken ownership limits in 2003, including but not limited to rules which forbid companies from owning newspapers and TV stations, rules which capped the number of television and radio stations owned in the same media market and rules barring firms from owning TV stations that reach more than 35 percent of the nation; and
WHEREAS, Eliminating or weakening these regulations would further reduce competition, local accountability, diversity of content and voices, and the amount and quality of news coverage in broadcast and print media across the country, while providing windfall profits for a small handful of corporate media owners; and
WHEREAS, The number of organizations in opposition to further media consolidation include, but is not limited to, the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group (PennPIRG), Prometheus Radio Project, Media Tank, the Philadelphia Community Access Coalition, Jobs with Justice, Consumers Union, Philadelphia International Action Center, Free Press, the Consumer Federation of America, the National Council of Churches, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, United Church of Christ, League of United Latin American Citizens, Common Cause, The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the National Organization for Women, National Hispanic Media Coalition, the Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association, Newspapers Guild – CWA, National Federation of Community Broadcasters, Center for Creative Activities, National Federation of Community Broadcasters, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, Independent Press Association, AFL-CIO,
Department of Professional Employees, and Center for Creative Voices in Media; and
WHEREAS, The FCC has held only one public hearing on its current media ownership proceeding in Los Angeles, California and has not committed to holding any public hearings in or near the Philadelphia area; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia is the nation’s fifth largest city with a rapidly growing population of minorities that would suffer from further media consolidation; and
WHEREAS, The Congressional delegation representing Pennsylvania has authority over rules set by the FCC and is charged with representing the best interests of Philadelphians; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it urges the Federal Communications Commission to protect and preserve its rules banning cross-ownership of electronic and print media, and regulations that limit the number of stations one owner may hold.
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Council urges the FCC to hold fair, open public hearings on the agency’s media ownership plans in the City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That a true and correct copy of this resolution be presented to all members of Philadelphia’s Congressional delegation as the true and sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
End