**Remarks of Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein**

**Public Hearing on Media Ownership**

**Seattle, Washington**

**November 9, 2007**

Thank you all for coming out on such short notice. I am sure even
hundreds if not thousands more people would have attended if you were
given proper notice. In my five years on the Commission, I have never
heard of a Chairman scheduling a public meeting on such short notice
without consulting his colleagues, so this is unprecedented.

In most cities, you could get away with slipping in and out quietly.
Usually, the local media outlets are owned by distant media
conglomerates itching to get even bigger. For some strange reason, the
media almost never gives much advance notice that the FCC is coming to a
particular city. Could it be they have a conflict of interest?

For those who say media ownership does not matter, I say look at one man
from Seattle: Frank Blethen. His family has been here over a century. He
owns the local newspaper, and he cares about this community. His
newspaper gave this hearing the coverage it deserves every single day
during this truncated advance notice period. And he had assistance on
the ground from the dedicated and passionate advocacy of Jonathan Lawson
and everyone at Reclaim the Media.

If we let local voices like Frank Blethen's get bought up by voracious
media giants looking to swallow up even more local outlets, voices like
his will be snuffed out forever. Do you want big out-of-state companies
to buy your newspapers and TV stations combined? Are you satisfied with
your local media today? Do you think more consolidation is the answer?

Well, we should listen to [you]{.underline} rather than the media
lobbyists back in the other Washington. The law says we are to serve the
public interest, not the interests of the media giants that seek to
profit by using the public airwaves without serving the needs of the
local community. We are here in the real Washington, with real people
who have suffered too much already from the mistakes we have made in
D.C.

We have forgotten that the public airwaves belong to the American
people. You are here tonight because you want to take them back.

Since 2003, Commissioner Copps and I have held two public meetings in
Seattle. We heard your voices loud and clear. These forums at the
Seattle Public Library and the University of Washington were some of the
most insightful I have ever witnessed. You communicated your concerns
with eloquence, wisdom and passion.

Tonight's meeting was literally scheduled at the last possible minute
allowed by law. It is more than coincidence that the same last-minute
announcement was made for the Washington, D.C., localism hearing that
was just held on Halloween. This pattern points to a conscious effort to
minimize turnout and to just check the box that these hearings were
held. The goal is to let big media have their way. You are just a little
speed bump along the road to further media concentration.

Well, I do not see you as an obstacle. Commissioner Copps does not see
you as an obstacle. And a strong bipartisan majority of Congress does
not see you as an obstacle. In fact, you represent the people we are
supposed to serve.

I see your interests and community needs as the end goal in themselves.
Unfortunately, judging from the way this hearing was arranged, it looks
like the media conglomerates' agenda is far ahead of yours at the FCC.
If you see a proposal for more consolidation made quickly after this
final hearing, you will know your input was dismissed. But those of you
who made it out here to the Great Hall are not about to let that happen.
Your views need to be accounted for in any proposal or decision we make.

You deserve quality [local]{.underline} music, news and public affairs
information. Your great local musicians deserve to have their music
played on local radio stations -- during the times when people are
actually listening. Your own Scott McCaughey tells us that while Seattle
is a huge national force in music, because of consolidation, even the
most successful local artists are having a harder time getting airplay
than their "alt-rock antecedents."

And minority communities deserve to be portrayed on the evening news in
a manner that reflects their many contributions, not underrepresented,
misrepresented or stereotyped. Women and people of color should be
owners, and not just consumers or lessees, of broadcast media services.

Women make up over half of the U.S. population, and minorities make up
over a third. But women and people of color own broadcast stations at
roughly one-tenth of their level of representation in the population.
Fewer and fewer media companies are gaining more and more control over
the means of distributing ideas. That means fewer small businesses,
fewer women, fewer African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and
Native Americans can use the public airwaves to contribute and have
their own voices heard. That is a tragedy in a country in which
diversity is our strength.

You have some great elected representatives watching out for you in D.C.
Senator Maria Cantwell and Congressman Jay Inslee wrote us to ask that
you be given four weeks notice for this event. It was quickly ignored in
an act of incredible insensitivity. Well, I know your representatives
and their dedication to serve your interests. Their request may have
been ignored, but they will not be. My request to give you more notice
may have been ignored, but I will not be. Your community's right to fair
notice may have been ignored, but you will not be! You are here tonight
because you will not let your voices be swept under the rug as the FCC
does the bidding of media conglomerates.

Just yesterday in the U.S. Senate, a bipartisan bill was introduced with
Senators Cantwell, Dorgan, Lott, Obama, Snowe and others. It would
require the FCC to have a 90-day comment period on any proposed media
ownership rule changes and to conduct a separate proceeding on localism
and diversity with another 90 day comment period. It requires us to
establish an independent panel on female and minority ownership, and to
conduct, once and for all, a complete census of the number of women and
minority owners of radio and TV stations. After the independent panel
makes recommendations, the legislation requires that we act on them
before the Commission tries to change any media ownership rule.

You can join in demanding that the FCC complete its localism proceeding
before -- not after -- it moves on media ownership. And you need to
demand that we properly study and support any changes we make with facts
this time, not ideology or pre-baked studies. We need to establish clear
and quantifiable public interest obligations for broadcasters. And we
need to implement changes to expand the number of media outlets owned by
women and people of color. You can join me and your leaders in Congress
in demanding that these policies are implemented before -- not after --
we change the media ownership rules.

You have a big responsibility tonight. You who are here speak for many
millions of your fellow citizens across the U.S. who believe that media
consolidation has already gone too far. A recent survey found 70 percent
of Americans see this as a problem. By a two-to-one margin, they believe
newspapers should not own TV stations in the same city.

It turns out the same proportions of Republicans and Democrats,
conservatives, moderates and liberals share these concerns. That is
reflected in the bipartisan group of panelists and elected officials
joining us tonight. Letting big media get bigger is not a partisan
issue. It goes against the grain of the American spirit we all share.
Conservatives do not like media giants to gain too much power any more
than liberals do, and never have. So you are far from alone. You are in
the big majority!

If the majority of the FCC opposes the majority of America in the name
of the "public interest," you will see a willful act of arrogance. You
will see a handful of unelected bureaucrats telling you "we know what\'s
in your interest better than you know for yourselves." That will face a
harsh judgment by your elected representatives on both sides of the
aisle in Congress, with Washington State leading the way.

If all else fails, and this is not done right, Congress has special fast
track procedures to veto any regulations put out by agencies like the
FCC. In 2004, the US Senate voted in an overwhelming bipartisan majority
to do just that, but it got bottled up in the U.S. House. Now, if in
2007 the FCC sides with the powerful few media companies over the public
interest, Congress can quickly veto it. Congress can send it to the
dustbin of history where it belongs. And I have no doubt your own
elected representatives will lead the charge.

So you, the people, have the last word. And here tonight, residents of
the Pacific Northwest have the last word. So thanks for coming out. Now,
let us hear from you!