**REMARKS OF\
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS**

**PUBLIC FORUM ON BROADCASTING AND RELIGION**

**JANUARY 9, 2007**

Good morning. Welcome to this historic forum and thank you to everyone
who had a hand in making it happen---particularly my friends at the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops and the United Church of Christ. This
***is*** an historic forum. Indeed, it is the first forum I am aware of
to tackle the important question of how religious broadcasting is faring
in the new media age in which we all live. Your presence today testifies
to the gravity of the question.

 At the FCC we have an agenda packed with issues that affect the
religious community in so many direct and tangible ways. Spectrum for
educational and instructional purposes, the E-rate, ensuring that the
Internet remains as open in the future as it does today, getting
broadband out to all our people no matter who they are or where they
live---these are just a few that spring instantly to mind. But amidst
them all, it is the future of our media that has been at the top of my
list since I became a Commissioner 5-1/2 years ago. I had concerns
coming in and they have only deepened as a result of what I have seen
and experienced since then. I am concerned that issues important for the
people to know about and upon which our democracy depends are receiving
so little coverage in our media. I am concerned that so many groups and
cultures and traditions and value systems are ignored by the media. I am
concerned because entertainment has become so homogeneous that the great
diversity and creative genius of our country are at risk. I am concerned
at the rampant vulgarity, sexuality and gratuitous violence that pervade
so much of our programming. I am concerned because of the
diminution---or, better, the disappearance---of meaningful public
interest obligations for our broadcast media. I am concerned that this
nation's media so seldom reflect and so seldom appeal to the better
angels of our nature. I am a worried citizen.

None of these new media realities can be understood apart from the
reality of media consolidation. Media consolidation is not a future
threat, it is present reality. Big companies own television, radio,
newspapers, cable systems and programming, even their own websites. They
own the production. They own the distribution. They are constricting the
market on creativity itself. And amidst the frenzy of consolidation we
have endured, it is becoming ever more difficult to find quality stories
that reflect religious viewpoints.

A little history to tell us how we got here: three years ago, under
then-FCC Chairman Michael Powell, and over the objections of my friend
Commissioner Adelstein and me, the FCC severely cut back---some would
say eviscerated---the rules we had to check Big Media's seemingly
endless appetite for more consolidation.  Without asking the questions
that needed to be asked---questions like what is the impact of
consolidation on minorities, senior citizens, children, families and
religions, the Powell Commission rammed through new rules allowing a
single media giant to own in some markets up to three television
stations, eight radio stations, the cable system and cable channels, and
the local newspaper---which is already a monopoly in most American
cities. And, just as bad, the agency did all this without seeking
meaningful input from the American people. 

But even before the vote was called on this sweeping proposal, something
happened that the Chairman didn't expect. The American people found out
what he was up to. An unprecedented army of left and right, liberal and
conservative, Republican and Democrat, red state and blue state came
together, demanded action and got it. The American people (nearly 3
million of them contacted the FCC in protest!), Congress and a federal
court rose up with one voice to say "No Way." So those rules were
checked and sent back to the FCC to be reworked. Mark that well: citizen
action can still carry the day. Concerned citizens can still make a
difference.

But, reality check: we're back at square one. The FCC has teed up
another ownership proceeding, industry is still pushing for more
consolidation, and the battle is on again. By the way, if anyone tries
to tell you that Big Media's push for more consolidation has abated,
don't believe it. I've seen their most recent pleadings and they make it
very clear that they are still following their Pied Piper of
Consolidation---and they are prepared to fight for it. So if we are
going to succeed this time around---and go on from there to have a
broader national dialogue on the future of the media in our
democracy---it will take widespread citizen action and organized efforts
flowing out of events like this.

Media is so precious, so fundamental. It is how we communicate with
oneanother beyond our personal spheres. Media is too important to our
future to be left to the whims of advertisers or the financial masters
of the market. Because it affects so much of who we are and what we do,
media has immense social and civic responsibilities. And, as citizens,
we have responsibility to demand and to secure a media environment that
informs, reflects and nourishes the great diversity of America. Pope
John Paul II put it eloquently: "The positive development of the media
at the service of the common good is a responsibility of each and every
one," and he went on, as his successor is doing, to emphasize the
culture of co-responsibility each nation must embrace in the
implementation of enlightened media policy.

I believe our country, our people, are ready to tackle these questions
proactively. And they are ready to go beyond just playing defense
against harmful new media consolidation rules and to revisit the old
rules that got us into this mess. I am convinced that a strong majority
want to reinvigorate broadcasters' public interest
obligations---obligations that have been stricken from the rules over
the past 25 years.

We have a chance now to chart a new course. We have a chance to ask
questions that didn't get answered last time around. We have a chance,
for example, to consider the effects of media concentration on children.
We should study the relationship between concentration and positive
children's programming. And we should examine the correlation between
the rising tide of indecent and violent programming and the rising tide
of media consolidation. It makes intuitive sense that the farther away a
program originates, the less sensitive it is to local standards. Who is
going to be more attuned to community standards---the far-distant
national owner who is driven by returns for shareholders or the
broadcaster closer to the local scene who, in some communities, you
still see at church, at the store and around town?

I believe people of faith are united by many common interests when it
comes to the media. They want a media environment that recognizes their
presence, covers their issues and provides them ample opportunity for
expression. They want local media that covers the thousands of good
works done in their communities every day. They want media that serves
the needs of all our citizens, certainly including the poor, the
disadvantaged and the disabled. They want a media that truly reflects
the diverse threads that hold together the great tapestry that is
America. They want those who operate the airwaves to understand that in
return for the privilege of using the people's airwaves, the people
expect a return that goes beyond someone's corporate bottom line.

I am here to ask for your help, again. I hope after our discussion today
that you return to your congregations and classrooms and talk up this
issue. Consider how media consolidation has affected your community and
your ability to get local coverage, get local news and seek outlets for
religious viewpoints. Make sure your community knows how important it is
to get involved. Let them know they can make a difference and play a
vibrant role in shaping the future of media in this country. Wouldn't it
be great to have a coalition of faith-based communities that put this
issue at the top of their concerns? That's where it should be, because
all the other issues you work on aren't being well served---often they
are not even mentioned---in today's big media environment. I believe
that this effort starts today with your participation in this forum and
I encourage you to set up meetings in your communities, where leaders
from churches, synagogues and mosques can bring these issues to those
you serve and mobilize their concerns on behalf of media policy that
better reflects your interests and values. Together I am convinced we
can make a difference. Let's act like the future depends on it. Because
it does.

Thank you and Godspeed.