San Antonio: FCC seeks input on broadcasters

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FCC seeks input on broadcasters

By L.A. Lorek

[San Antonio] Express-News Business Writer

Web Posted : 01/25/2004 12:00 AM

The Federal Communications Commission will be in town Wednesday to find out how well local broadcasters are serving the public. It promises to be quite a show.

At issue is media consolidation, a polarizing topic that has prompted activist groups to push for media reform. Critics of current FCC policy say too few companies control the airwaves, and thus, radio and TV broadcasters aren't doing a good enough job.

A foremost target of activists' ire is San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications, the nation's largest radio station owner. Clear Channel's critics say that since radio deregulation took place in 1996, the company has become too powerful and that it doesn't promote local news, music and views on its stations, which grew from 40 to 1,200 in a relatively short time.

Clear Channel executives did not respond to requests for comment for this story. But major media companies support the FCC rules as currently written. And the Texas Broadcasters Association says local audiences are served well.

Activist groups aren't buying that. They've been working overtime to educate the public and their supporters about media consolidation. Last week, groups such as the AFL-CIO, Common Cause and the Esperanza Center in San Antonio held three discussions on "how to reclaim the airwaves."

Most meetings are set for this week, along with a public march, a news conference and rally before the hearing, which is set for 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 103 Main Plaza.

"Diverse opinions are not respected in the media any more," Barbara Renaud Gonzalez of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center said. "Diverse opinions are necessary for democracy. Voices like mine are not being heard on the airwaves or television."

There's some evidence that big media companies hope to blunt their critics - or perhaps learn more about them - by soliciting their opinions. Earlier this month, Clear Channel announced plans to create local advisory boards in San Antonio and other cities nationwide to listen to the public and react to their concerns.

At the hearing, the FCC hopes to gather information from consumers, the industry, civic organizations and others. FCC Chairman Michael Powell will lead the discussion, along with Commissioners Kathleen Abernathy, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.

Activists want to tell the FCC that deregulated media is bad for local broadcasts and bad for diversity, Debbie Russell, a grassroots organizer based in Austin, said.

Last June, the FCC voted to further deregulate media ownership rules, allowing companies to own newspapers, radio and TV stations in the same market. It also raised the national broadcast ownership rule, allowing companies to reach 45 percent of the public, up from 35 percent.

The FCC also tightened regulations in the radio industry and re-evaluated the size of some radio markets.

Ann Arnold, executive director of the Texas Broadcasters Association, thinks Texas' 1,155 local radio and television stations each find their niche for delivering entertainment, news, weather, sports, public affairs and emergency alerts. "Localism is alive and well in Texas broadcasting," Arnold said.

Small stations make up 58 percent of all of Texas' radio stations, Arnold said. And programmers tailor their content to the local community, she said.

Local broadcasters also are involved in their communities, Arnold said. In the past five years, Texas broadcasters have contributed more than $2 billion to their local communities in public service efforts, she said.

Some of the speakers at the hearing include musician Ray Benson, a singer and songerwriter with the band Asleep at the Wheel and Lydia Camarillo, vice president of Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and and Oscar Moran, former president of the League of United Latin American Citizens and Ray Rossman, director of Parents Television Council in San Antonio.

Also attending from the TV and radio industries are Tom Glade, vice president of Clear Channel Radio, Robert G. McGann, president and general manager of KENS-TV and Steve Giust, general manager of KWEX-TV in San Antonio.

Commissioner Copps said he expects people will come to the hearing to talk about indecency on the airwaves, local musicians receiving airtime, local sports coverage and local news coverage among other topics.

"I hope we get a lot of plain, ordinary citizens attending," Copps said. "It's their airwaves we are talking about."

The FCC needs to know about what effect consolidation has had on news coverage, he said.

"There is a whole raft of issues," Copps said. "People should be concerned because it's their media."

The FCC already has held one hearing - a three-hour meeting held on Oct. 22 in Charlotte, N.C., that drew more than 350 people. San Antonio is the largest city on the FCC's list. Other hearings are scheduled later this year in Santa Cruz, Calif., Rapid City, S.D., Portland, Maine, and Washington, D.C.

The FCC is holding the hearings to judge whether local broadcasters should have their licenses renewed, Copps said. The FCC used to look at stations every three years for renewal, but now it checks every eight years - and the examination isn't very deep, Copps said.

"We don't really look," Copps said. "You can pretty much bank on the fact your license is going to be renewed. That has invited the excesses and abuses we have seen over the years."

Texas' radio broadcast licenses are up for renewal Aug. 1, 2005. Texas TV licenses are up for renewal Aug. 1, 2006.

Consumers can file informal complaints with the FCC by e-mail or regular mail detailing why a station isn't serving the public interest.

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