(I received this comm recently, and should have shared earlier!)
HYDE PARK - U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, is hosting a discussion on
media consolidation at 6 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Henry A. Wallace Center.
The panel discussion will include Michael J. Copps, a Federal Communications
Commission commissioner, as well as various local community leaders.
The talk will address the impact of media consolidation on local communities
with a focus on the Hudson Valley.
Once the speakers make opening remarks, the floor will be opened to the
audience. All public comments made at the forum will be transcribed and submitted
to the federal commission which regulates media ownership.
The event, which runs until 8:30 p.m., is free and open to the public.
The Wallace Center is located at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential
Library and Museum on Route 9.
_______________
Don't miss the only opportunity to weigh in on an issue which is critical to
our democracy. Please join Congressman Maurice Hinchey and FCC Commissioner
Michael Copps on November 21, 2006, 6:00 PM at the FDR Library in Hyde Park for
a Public Hearing on the effects of media concentration on our communities
(see www.re-media.org for directions and more info).
The original FCC's mandate was intended to limit large corporations from
dominating local and national media, thus ensuring citizens' access to the widest
range of viewpoints and sources of information, essential to preserve our
First Amendment. As Congress and the FCC have permitted increasing monopoly
control to media corporations, we have witnessed the disappearance of almost all of
our local media. In its place we find one size fits all media that isn't
about us and doesn't serve our needs as a self-governing people.
Currently the FCC is considering further relaxing its rules on media
ownership. FCC ownership rules have already permitted too much consolidation.
Speak out and tell our government that it has gone too far.