Hopeful After 2008

The year 2003 holds a special place in the history of the media reform movement. That was the year when then-FCC Chairman Michael Powell tried to eradicate every media ownership rule on the books.

The public response was swift and powerful, with organizations on the right and left leaping to action, mobilizing nearly 3 million people to write letters to the Senate calling for a stop to media consolidation. In the end, the Senate and the courts acted to strike down the FCC rule changes. It was a watershed moment that introduced many new people to the politics of our media system.

However, while 2003 was a moment of crisis that catalyzed a movement, 2008 has been a year of movement building that proved to lawmakers and corporate lobbyists that media reform is here to stay.

Congress Thanks Media Reform Activists

Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)went to the floor of the House late last week to speak out on media consolidation. With the Congress about to adjourn before the elections and consumed with the financial crisis, Inslee and Waters acknowledged that the Resolution of Disapproval (H J. Res 79) may not get a floor vote> But they wanted to thank the public for speaking out so strongly on this issue.

National Day of Action: Tens of Thousands of Petitions Delivered

Yesterday, what began as a click on a Web site became a national day of action in which local community members from Phoenix, Ariz. to Bridgeport, Conn. marched into their representatives’ local offices and urged them to stand up for better media.

In nearly 50 cities and towns around the country, local citizens delivered tens of thousands of petition signatures calling on members of Congress to support the “Resolution of Disapproval” that would veto the Federal Communications Commission’s latest handout to Big Media.