Tell Congress to Stand Up to the FCC
Speak Up on Media Diversity!
| Take Action Now: Write your representative and urge her/his support of a resolution of disapproval (H.J.Res.79) to stop the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to ease restrictions on media ownership and consolidation. |
When minorities, women, seniors, and people with disabilities are not fairly represented at news operations at all levels – particularly as owners – Americans see, hear, and read fewer diverse viewpoints. How the public views issues – and whether or not the public is even aware of certain civil rights issues like fair housing and voter discrimination – is directly related to how these issues are covered by the media.
The FCC recently decided to eliminate a longstanding limit on how many media outlets any one company can own. This allowance of media ownership consolidation decreases the local, minority and female ownership of media outlets.
However, with overwhelming support, the Senate recently approved a resolution that would overturn the FCC rule. A bipartisan resolution of disapproval, H.J.Res.79, has now been introduced in the House of Representatives. Your representative needs to hear from you! Write her/him and urge support for the resolution of disapproval and media diversity.
Talking Points
When writing your representative, please feel free to add any additional talking points to the template letter to help articulate the importance of denouncing the FCC’s unfair and harmful decision:
The Dangers of Media Consolidation:
- Instead of local ownership with a diversity of views, we now have homogenized, cookie-cutter media divorced from local concerns.
- In the twelve years since federal law relaxed rules prohibiting media companies from owning multiple types of media in one market (such as major newspapers and television stations), large media conglomerates have bought out many small media companies once owned by minorities.
- At a time when minority populations are growing, minority ownership in TV and radio has dropped substantially.
- Latino Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans – who together make up one-third of the U.S. population – own only 7 percent of our nation’s full-power radio and TV stations. And women (51 percent of the U.S. population) own less than 6 percent of full-power commercial radio and TV stations.
- The FCC’s new rule would make it even easier for conglomerates to “cross-own” broadcast and newspaper outlets.
Dear [ Decision Maker ],
(Edit Letter Below)
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
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