[Imc-sac] FCC Comm. Copps on lack of Convention news coverage

[RCooper444 at aol.com]

Show Me the Convention
By MICHAEL J. COPPS

Published: August 30, 2004
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/30/opinion/30copps.html?ex=1094788800&en=5487b4
c25880be3c&ei=5070

Washington - As a Democratic commissioner on the Federal 
Communications Commission, I may not agree with many positions taken 
by speakers this week at the Republican National Convention. Even so, 
I believe our broadcast media owe us more coverage of an event that 
remains an important component of the presidential campaign. Yet 
tonight, if people around the country tune in to the commercial 
broadcast TV networks, most will not see any live convention 
coverage. That's not right.

Let's remember that American citizens own the public airwaves, not TV 
executives. We give broadcasters the right to use these airwaves for 
free in exchange for their agreement to broadcast in the public 
interest. They earn huge profits using this public resource. During 
this campaign season broadcasters will receive nearly $1.5 billion 
from political advertising.

What do we get in return for granting TV stations free use of our 
airwaves? Unfortunately, when it comes to coverage of issues 
important to our nation, the answer is less and less. Coverage of the 
2000 presidential election on the network evening news dropped by a 
third compared to reporting on the 1996 election. During the last 
election cycle we heard directly from presidential candidates for an 
average of 9 seconds a night on the news. Local races? Forget it. In 
2002 - the most recent midterm elections - more than half of local 
newscasts contained no campaign coverage at all. Local coverage has 
diminished to the point that campaign ads outnumber campaign stories 
by four to one. What coverage there is focuses inordinately on polls 
and handicapping the horse race.

TV executives tell us that the convention and campaign coverage 
provided by the cable channels is sufficient. I don't think so. 
Around 35 million Americans don't get cable, often because they 
cannot afford it. To put it in perspective, that's more than the 
combined populations of Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. 
Furthermore, broadcasters legally undertake to serve the public 
interest themselves in exchange for free spectrum - their licenses 
don't allow them to pass the buck to cable. Remember also that the 
vast majority of cable channels are national, not local. So don't 
look for local campaign coverage on cable, except in the few towns 
where local cable news exists. Most Americans still must look to 
their local broadcaster for news of local campaigns and issues.

The F.C.C. is doing nothing to help as the situation deteriorates. It 
has weakened almost every explicit duty stations once had for serving 
the public interest, like ensuring that stations cover local issues 
and offer viewers a diversity of opinion. Just as bad, the commission 
eliminated protections against media consolidation last year, even 
though critics warned that this would result in even less local 
coverage. Luckily, a federal court rejected this decision, so we have 
another chance to save these rules.

The F.C.C. has also failed to set guidelines for how broadcasters 
will meet their public interest responsibilities when digital TV and 
multicasting become more widespread. To make matters worse, the 
F.C.C. now practically rubber-stamps TV license renewals, usually 
without auditing station records to determine whether licensees are 
fulfilling their public interest responsibilities or checking with 
communities to ensure that stations are meeting local needs.

Whether we are Democrats, Republicans or independents, we all can 
agree that democracy depends on well-informed citizens. So as you 
flip through the channels tonight while the convention is largely 
ignored, consider whether TV broadcasters, sustained by free access 
to the public airwaves in exchange for programming in the public 
interest, are holding up their end of the deal.

Michael J. Copps is a commissioner on the Federal Communications
Commission.