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 REMARKS  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 
 FCC  HEARING  ON  MEDIA  OWNERSHIP  NASHVILLE,  TENNESSEE 
 DECEMBER  11,  2006 
 Thanks  are  due  first  and  foremost  to  my  friend  and  colleague,  Commissioner  Tate,  for  her  leadership  and  hard  work  in  organizing  todays  hearing.  I  know  how  much  she  loves  this  city 
 and  we  appreciate  the  hospitality  she,  and  all  the  good  citizens  of  Nashville,  are  showing  us.  This  is  hallowed  and  historic  ground  for  those  of  us  who  happen  to  love  country  music.  I  started 
 listening  to  country  way  back  in  the  early  Fifties.  Every  afternoon  on  the  local  radio  in  Milwaukee,  where  I  grew  up,  there  was  a  country  music  program.  My  brother,  Tom,  would  tune 
 in  his  room  and  he  was  a  big  Hank  Snow  fan.  I  would  be  tuned  in  down  the  hall  waiting  for  my  favorite,  Hank  Williams,  to  come  on.  Later  on,  just  as  Hank  Williams  would  have  it,  Tom  saw 
 the  light  as  to  how  great  Hank  Williams  was,  and  I  found  myself  moving  on  for  some  stolen  moments  with  Hank  Snow  and  appreciating  his  great  artistry. 

 Thanks  also  to  Senator  Frist,  President  Fisher  and  Belmont  University,  and  Mayor  Purcell  for  welcoming  us  and  to  Congressman  Jim  Cooper  who  will  be  here  later  today  and  who  has 
 been  such  a  great  leader  on  the  issues  we  will  be  discussing. 
 Today  is  the  second  full-  FCC  hearing  this  year  on  media  consolidation.  I  think  its  worth  taking  a  moment  to  reflect  on  why  were  here  today,  what  this  hearing  can  teach  us,  and  where 

 were  going  from  here. 
 Were  here  today,  most  of  all,  because  Chairman  Martin  and  my  colleagues  understand  that  we  cannot  go  down  the  road  of  contemplating  far-  reaching  changes  to  this  nations  media 

 environment  without  first  checking  with  the  American  people.  Three  years  ago,  the  FCC  learned  this  lesson  the  hard  way.  Then-  Chairman  Powell  decided  under  cover  of  night  and  over  the 
 objections  of  Commissioner  Adelstein  and  me  to  authorize  a  sea  change  in  the  number  of  media  outlets  a  single  corporation  could  own  in  a  single  community.  He  managed  to  ram  that 
 decision  through  the  FCC  on  a  3-  2  vote.  But  then  the  American  people,  the  Congress,  and  a  federal  court  rose  up  as  with  one  voice  to  say  No  Way  thats  not  how  decisions  are  made  in 
 our  democracy,  a  nation  of  laws  and  principles  and  open  exchange,  not  one  of  special  interests  and  dollars  and  closed  doors.  So  those  ill-  conceived  rules  were  checked  and  sent  back  to  the 
 FCC  to  be  reworked.  Mark  that  well  because  it  shows  that  concerned  citizens  can  still  make  a  difference  in  this  country. 

 Todays  hearing  is  the  full  Commissions  chance  the  chance  it  didnt  take  advantage  of  last  time  around  to  hear  from  the  people  who  live  every  day  with  the  effects  and  consequences 
 of  media  consolidation  you.  So  were  here  to  listen  to  your  history,  your  experiences,  your  satisfaction  or  dissatisfaction  with  the  current  media  environment  here  in  Nashville.  Justice 
 Holmes  tells  us  that  a  page  of  history  is  worth  a  volume  of  logic  and  I  couldnt  agree  more.  Your  experiences  and  perspectives  are  worth  several  bookshelves  of  legal  submissions  from  Big 
 Medias  lobbyists. 
 And  by  the  way,  if  anyone  tries  to  tell  you  that  Big  Medias  push  for  more  consolidation  has  gone  away,  dont  believe  it.  Ive  seen  their  recent  pleadings.  Theyre  still  following  that 

 same  Pied  Piper  of  Consolidation  they  followed  three  years  ago.  They  havent  gone  away,  and  their  lawyers  and  lobbyists  havent  gone  away  either.  They  have  money  and  they  have  power. 
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 So  if  we  are  going  to  succeed  on  this  and  go  on  from  there  to  a  broader  national  dialogue  on  the  future  of  the  media  in  our  democracy  a  discussion  that  has  been  too  long  delayed  and  too 
 long  denied  it  will  be  because  of  citizen  action  from  millions  of  Americans  and  testimony  at  hearings  like  this  one. 

 In  addition  to  public  testimony  today,  we  are  going  to  hear  from  two  distinguished  panels.  The  first  is  composed  of  people  from  every  end  of  the  music  business.  In  Los  Angeles 
 two  months  ago,  we  learned  how  changes  in  broadcast  ownership  have  squeezed  independent  content  producers  off  of  broadcast  television.  Now,  were  going  to  hear  what  changes  in  radio 
 ownership  have  meant  for  practitioners  of  Nashvilles  greatest  art  form  who  want  to  get  on  the  radio  and  for  listeners  who  want  to  hear  them.  You  know  what  I  learned  recently?  If  you  want 
 to  tune  into  country  music  in  Los  Angeles  or  New  York  City,  forget  it.  There  are  no  full-  power  country  stations  in  either  of  those  huge  markets.  What  a  tragedy.  And  its  not  just  country.  Last 
 week  came  reports  that  Washington,  DC  may  lose  its  last  classical  music  station  to  sports  talk  radio. 

 History  teaches  us  that  creative  artists  have  often  been  leaders  for  progressive  change  and  democracy  in  times  of  great  social  and  political  strain.  Their  words  of  protest  and  wisdom  have 
 not  only  meant  a  great  deal  at  crucial  moments  in  this  nations  past,  but  still  reach  out  to  us  down  the  corridors  of  the  passing  years.  Our  panelists  are  continuing  that  proud  tradition  today  and  I 
 thank  each  of  them  for  their  courage  in  coming  here  today.  (And  I  should  warn  them  that  as  well  as  taking  notes  on  what  they  say,  Ill  probably  be  asking  for  autographs,  too.) 

 Our  second  panel  will  address  the  state  of  both  broadcast  and  print  media  here  in  Nashville.  We  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  scholars  and  advocates  on  this  panel  who 
 understand  the  critical  ties  between  vibrant  local  media  and  our  democratic  way  of  life  the  personal  experiences  local  media  can  communicate  or  suppress;  the  political  conversations  it  can 
 enable  or  prevent;  the  abuses  of  power  it  can  expose  or  cover  up.  Our  panelists  also  have  much  they  can  teach  us  about  the  relationship  between  commercialism  and  journalism.  I  know  some 
 believe  that  buzzwords  like  economies  of  scale,  leverage,  synergy,  cross-  promotion,  diversification,  monetization  of  assets,  and  so  on  will  somehow  save  the  news  business  and 
 restore  it  to  glory.  Thats  journalism  reduced  to  just  another  business  and  Americas  media  the  way  we  communicate  with  one  another  outside  our  immediate  circles  is  decidedly  not  just 
 another  business.  Local  news  is  democracys  lifeblood  a  precious  resource,  a  public  trust,  and  it  demands  the  most  careful  stewardship  from  government  and,  yes,  businessmen  and  women  as 
 well.  The  nations  airwaves  are  the  peoples  airwaves.  Broadcasters  are  permitted  to  use  the  peoples  airwaves  for  free  and  they  make  a  very  good  living  doing  so  but  only  if  they  serve 
 the  public  interest.  We  must  hold  them  to  that  bargain. 
 In  an  era  where  minority  ownership  appears  to  be  at  shockingly  and  embarrassingly  low  lows,  while  payola  allegations  continue  to  raise  their  ugly  heads,  when  infomercials  and 

 propaganda  are  passed  off  as  news,  and  where  license  renewal  has  become  a  mindless  pro  forma  farce,  I  believe  that  the  bargain  that  America  made  with  commercial  broadcasting  has  gotten 
 wildly  out  of  whack.  Almost  every  public  interest  requirement  that  broadcasters  had  to  prove  they  were  meeting  in  order  to  get  their  licenses  renewed  has  gone  by  the  boards.  You  know,  I 
 dont  think  the  working  press  really  likes  the  direction  were  heading  not  one  bit.  I  think  that,  given  their  druthers,  our  nations  TV  and  radio  news  directors,  producers  and  reporters  would 
 like  to  produce  high-  quality,  hard-  hitting  coverage  that  serves  the  public  interest  and  not  special  interests.  How  can  we  help  these  public-  spirited  professionals  to  convince  their  corporate 
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 parents  to  give  them  the  resources  they  need?  The  FCC  could  help  not  just  by  foregoing  destructive  new  rules,  but  proactively  working  to  reinvigorate  the  public  interest.  As  the  dean  of 
 the  Columbia  School  of  Journalism  pointed  out  earlier  this  year,  the  great  network  news  operations  of  earlier  decades  existed  in  part  because  corporate  parents  knew  they  had  to  go  to  the 
 FCC  and  justify  their  re-  licensing  every  few  years.  What  I  hear  now  from  many  members  of  the  working  press  is  that,  without  a  meaningful  relicensing  process  at  the  FCC,  theres  no  way  to 
 focus  the  attention  of  broadcastings  corporate  leadership  on  the  need  to  comply  with  meaningful  public  interest  obligations.  So  we  need  to  restore  a  sense  of  balance  to  the  broadcasting  bargain. 
 I  say  to  you  and  I  say  to  my  colleagues:  it  should  be  the  top  priority  of  the  FCC  to  put  some  life  back  into  our  public  oversight  responsibilities.  Lets  act  like  the  future  of  our  media  depends  on 
 it  because  it  does. 
 To  me  these  questions  about  our  media  are  as  important  as  any  I  know.  All  the  other  issues  members  of  this  audience  care  about  are  funneled  and  filtered,  increasingly,  through  big 

 media.  Dumbed-  down  news  is  not  helping  our  democracy  any  more  than  homogenized  music  and  national  play-  lists  are  giving  us  entertainment  truly  reflective  of  the  creative  genius  of  this 
 diverse  nation.  We  are  paying  too  heavy  a  price  for  the  lack  of  diversity,  localism,  creativity  and  competition  that  so  much  consolidation  has  visited  upon  us.  There  is  a  bottom  line  here  and  its 
 this  the  people  dont  have  enough  say  as  to  how  their  airwaves  are  being  used  and  its  time  to  do  something  about  it. 

 Thank  you  for  coming  here  today  and  for  sharing  your  thoughts  with  us.  I  plan  to  listen  and  learn  and  then  go  out  and  work  for  a  media  environment  that  works  for  every  person  in  this 
 hall.  We  should  all,  every  one  of  us,  be  activists  in  this  great  cause. 
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