FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 19, 2003

CONTACT: Norris Dickard (202) 638-5770 norris@benton.org

BENTON FOUNDATION TO HOST ARIZONA "PEOPLE'S FORUM" ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP

April 7 forum to feature FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps, Arizona

Attorney General Terry Goddard, journalist Hugh Downs

Washington, DC - On Monday, April 7, 2003, the Benton Foundation will

hold the Arizona Forum on Media Ownership, in partnership with Arizona

State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass

Communication and the Maricopa Community College District's Center for

Civic Participation.

The forum will address the current federal review of the nation's

media ownership rules under consideration by the Federal

Communications Commission (FCC). The event will provide citizens in

the region with an opportunity to learn about - and provide input on -

the issue. It will be held at the KAET/Channel 8 television studio

(www.kaet.asu.edu) on the campus of Arizona State University from

1:00pm to 4:30 p.m.

FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps will address the forum, as will

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, former Mayor of Phoenix and a

member of the Benton Foundation Board of Directors. Noted journalist

Hugh Downs will also participate. Downs served as co-anchor of

ABCNEWS' 20/20 program and received the 1990 Broadcaster of the Year

Award from the International Radio and Television Society. Also

invited is broadcasting pioneer and former managing editor of CBS

Evening News Walter Cronkite.

The FCC is currently considering changes to the nation's media

ownership rules, with implications for community and civic discourse.

FCC Chairman Michael Powell has called the current review "the most

comprehensive undertaking in the area of media ownership in the

commission's history." While calling for nationwide forum events on

the topic, FCC Commissioner Copps has expressed concerns about the

lack of public knowledge of what is at stake, saying, "I don't know of

any issue before the commission that is more fraught with serious

consequences for the American people."

Charles Benton, Chairman of the Board of the Benton Foundation, noted,

"We are seeking to meet the need for greater public education and

debate in helping organize this event. This is a 'people's forum' to

elevate the voiceless in the current media ownership debate --

Hispanics, Native Americans and those who live in rural areas --

silenced by the very media legally obliged to serve the diversity of

local interests."

"Arizona State University is pleased to be a partner in the

organization of this forum,"added Joe Foote, Director of the Cronkite

School. "It addresses one of the most important communications issues

before the nation. Phoenix and Arizona are interesting media markets

for this debate. Phoenix covers more than 475 square miles and ranks

sixth in the U.S. in total population, second in overall population

growth, first in Hispanic population growth and third in employment

growth. As a media market, the region is dominated by ownership from

the outside, by mid-level companies."

The FCC is mandated to promote competition, diversity and localism in

the media. The FCC is asking the public to offer comments on how the

agency can develop ownership rules that provide citizens with

viewpoints from a diversity of sources and that enhance the

marketplace of ideas.

"In contrast to the one official FCC hearing in Virginia, Benton and

many other groups are organizing forum events across the country to

broaden the dialogue beyond the Washington DC beltway crowd," said

Norris Dickard, Benton Foundation Director of Public Policy. "In

Phoenix, we will bring the debate to an Arizona audience with a

distinctly local perspective - focusing more on people, less on

pundits. It is critical that the citizens of Arizona hear about and

have a venue to provide input on this important matter. The Center for

Civic Participation will be an invaluable partner in making this

happen."

The hearing is open to the public; those interested in attending

should send an email to tiffany.doocey@asu.edu or call 480-965-0291

for further information. An announcement of the exact time, location,

and agenda will follow.

Since 1981, the Benton Foundation has worked to realize the social

benefits made possible by the public interest use of communications.

Through its projects, the nonpartisan organization seeks to shape the

emerging communications environment in the public interest. The Benton

Foundation is located in Washington, DC.

ph:202-638-5770 fax:202-638-5771 email: benton@benton.org Web:

www.benton.org

www.benton.org/press/2003/pr0319.html Last updated: 19 March 2003 awc

ARIZONA CITIZENS BLAST FCC IN PUBLIC FORUM

At an Arizona public forum co-hosted by the Benton Foundation yesterday, a

group of over 80 citizens, journalists and policymakers gathered at the KAET

studio to debate FCC proposals to deregulate US media ownership limits. FCC

Commissioner Michael Copps, speaking at the event, argued that the FCC

should give the public more opportunities to offer input on the proposed

deregulation. "There's potential to remake our entire communications

landscape, for better or for worse, for many years to come," Copps said.

Phoenix art gallery owner Kimber Lanning complained that previous

deregulation of the radio industry had allowed corporate monopolies to

squeeze the diversity out of radio programming. "It's like having the most

vibrant colors you can imagine watered down into the most blah shade of

brown," Lanning said. Benton Foundation President Andrea Taylor added that

public forums were important tools to give citizens a chance to weigh the

potential impact of deregulation. "Once the ruling occurs and people begin

to digest the impact, there will be even greater concern, but by then it

will be too late," she said.

[SOURCE: Arizona State University, AUTHOR: Garrett Neese]

(http://www.asuwebdevil.com/news/411406.html)

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Arizona citizens blast FCC in public forum

Issue crucial to the future of newspaper, radio debated on campus

By Garrett Neese

Arizona journalists, politicians and citizens blasted the Federal

Communications Commission's efforts to further deregulate ownership

laws during a public forum Monday at the KAET studio.

More than 80 people attended the forum, which featured prominent

figures such as former "20/20" anchorman Hugh Downs and FCC

Commissioner Michael Copps.

Currently, corporations are prohibited from owning a radio station and

a print newspaper within the same city or geographical market. A

potential FCC policy revision, which was the focus of Monday's forum,

could loosen these limits.

Copps, a Democrat who has organized similar forums nationwide, said

the rulings would have a sizeable impact on the audience. No other FCC

members have attended the forums.

"There's potential to remake our entire communications landscape, for

better or for worse, for many years to come," Copps said. "Media

consolidation has gone far, far beyond what anybody could have

reasonably imagined in 1996."

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard decried the lack of competition

in the Phoenix market, saying Phoenix journalism missed the "violent

and vigorous dialogue" present before the folding of the Phoenix

Gazette.

"It's extremely hard for me to figure out how anything but diversity

is in the interest of our democracy," Goddard said.

East Valley Tribune editor Jim Ripley said he was "greatly concerned"

with the possibility of Gannett, owner of the Arizona Republic, buying

out Freedom Communications, owner of the Tribune.

"We try to represent the view of the East Valley," Ripley said.

"Certainly a viewpoint could be lost [if the paper was sold]."

The forum was the latest in a series of informal sessions held across

the country to increase debate about the upcoming review. The sessions

are hosted by the Benton Foundation, a group that watchdogs the

communication industry in the public's interest.

The effects of the 1996 Telecommunications Act came up repeatedly

during the discussion. The act deregulated all communication

industries and left control in the hands of the market, not public

policy.

Some panelists said the act had a homogenizing effect on broadcasting,

while others credited it with saving smaller stations from extinction.

Kimber Lanning, an audience member and owner of the Modified Arts

gallery in Phoenix, said corporate monopolies have made most radio

stations bland and less experimental.

"It's like having the most vibrant colors you can imagine watered down

into the most blah shade of brown," Lanning said.

Downs agreed that the range of ideas broadcast on the air had been

narrowed down considerably.

"In a way, it's more diversified, but in a way it's become more

centrist," Downs said.

The forum was taped by KAET, and a simultaneous Web cast was

broadcast.

Andrea Taylor, president of the Benton Foundation, said she hopes the

taped forums can be used during the FCC hearings.

Taylor said the forums were intended to increase public awareness of

the FCC rulings before they happened.

"Once the ruling occurs and people begin to digest the impact, there

will be even greater concern, but by then it will be too late," Taylor

said.

Reach the reporter at garrett.neese@asu.edu.