CHICAGO MEDIA ACTION EMERGENCY ALERT: November 10, 2003 http://www.chicagomediaaction.org The National Conference on Media Reform was held this past weekend, and Chicago Media Action was there. The weekend was filled with ideas for a number of actions, plans, strategies. We hope to begin working on some of the suggested actions in the coming weeks and months. For the moment, there are two things to bring to your attention. One is an article published in today's Chicago Tribune about the conference. The article has been cross-posted here: http://chicago.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=33051&group=webcast We encourage you to write to the Tribune, thanking them for their coverage and encouraging them for additional coverage of this issue (you can email the Tribune at ctc-TribLetter@tribune.com). The other is an alert from Common Cause (reproduced below), asking us to rally quickly with regards to a possible rollback on the FCC rule on TV ownership. There may be another alert from CMA this week, with additional actions. Watch your email. Thank you. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** MEDIA CONSOLIDATION ALERT--- We need your calls!! Today, the Senate is expected to begin debate on a spending bill that includes a provision that blocks the FCC from implementing a higher ownership cap -- a "cap" that allows one company to own television stations reaching up to 45 percent of the national audience. The provision now in the spending bill (H.R. 2799) maintains the current 35 percent national cap. The House approved a similar measure, keeping the 35 percent limit, by a vote of 400-21. Unfortunately, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is threatening to strip this language from the bill by offering an amendment to allow the higher 45 percent ownership cap. On the up side, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) is expected to offer an amendment that would re-impose the newspaper-TV cross-ownership ban. Without such a ban, one media giant could own a local newspaper, up to three TV stations and up to eight radio stations in one media market. These votes may be the Senate's last opportunity this year to address media ownership issues. This could be our last chance to tell Congress we oppose the FCC's outrageous and unpopular media ownership rules--rules that will increase media consolidation and decrease the diversity of voices that is so important to our democracy. Please call your Senators today and ask them to vote: 1. AGAINST Sen. McCain's amendment allowing the higher 45 percent national ownership cap favored by the FCC AND 2. FOR Sen. Hutchison's amendment re-imposing the newspaper-TV cross-ownership ban If you know who your Senators are [In Illinois, they're Dick Durbin and Peter Fitzgerald], you may call the Capitol Switchboard and ask for them directly: => 202-224-3121 Otherwise, you can look up your Senators and their numbers here: => http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 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: www.chicagomediaaction.org email: cma@chicagomediaaction.org To unsubscribe from this mailing list, simply send an email requesting removal to mailinglist@chicagomediaaction.org