White spaces?

What the heck are those? How does that have anything to do with democracy?

Well, just let me tell ya.

In the midst of a very historic Election Day, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) met and voted on a very important (if a bit wonky) new rule. This new rule allows for unlicensed use of "white spaces" for a variety of uses - including wireless broadband internet.

We have a new update on the Pentagon Propaganda story we previously reported on here and here.

Congressional Quarterly is reporting today that the Federal Communications Commission is investigating this matter. The story says, "The FCC is looking into whether TV networks and certain on-air analysts broke the law by failing to disclose to viewers that the apparently independent analysts were in fact part of a Pentagon-funded information campaign, a spokesman for the commission said."

Joe Torres at Free Press posted a blog yesterday titled "Hate Speech Rises in the Media" which gives some examples of the increase of hate speech in the mainstream media.

ANY hate speech is more than our society should have, but it's especially alarming when it is increasing. So where are the voices to counter the hate speech? Silenced. Not by force. Not by intimidation. But by the media ownership structure.

People of color who are being attacked by talking heads in the media have little capacity to respond or frame the message themselves because they can't get into the media market.

Today is the Common Cause sponsored Media Symposium at the Big Tent in Denver. The goal of the day is to bring issues of media reform to the alternative media that is gathered here at the Big Tent as well as to many of the DNC delegates who are in town.

We have gotten started today with an address by FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein (introduced by Common Cause President Bob Edgar). Commissioner Adelstein made a clear call for stopping and reversing media consolidation, increasing media diversity and protecting net neutrality. He specifically called for the tax certificate for minority media ownership, which we called for in our recent plan for media reform in a new administration. As the day moves forward, come back to view more reports on the day's activities at our media symposium.

Where do the two major party candidates stand on the media reform issues we highlight in our new report, "Media and Democracy in America Today: A Reform Plan for a New Administration"?

It's a mixed bag.

McCain has a strong record of supporting Low Power FM Radio, increasing diversity of media ownership, funding public broadcasting and free air time for campaigns. However, he has opposed stopping media consolidation and is against net neutrality.

Obama on the other hand has been a vocal supporter of net neutrality and has actively opposed media consolidation. While generally good on most of the issues we highlight in the new report, he has less of a record to show for it.

And there are gaps in our knowledge. That's why we would like to hear from their campaigns and anyone else who can tell us where they stand on issues like reforming the processes at the Federal Communications Commission and if they support PEG Access TV.

We have a full chart of their stands on the issues we raise in our new report - as far as we know them. Check it out, and let us know if you have any more information.

Today I am proud to release Common Cause's plan for media reform. The report, titled "Media and Democracy in America Today: A Reform Plan for a New Administration," lays out a plan of action for the next President and Congress to take to ensure the media performs its appropriate role in our democracy.

This was a major undertaking, and I want to thank all who participated from within and without Common Cause to help put it together. Now the key thing is to make the recommendations in this report a reality.

That's going to take several things.

It's going to take other bloggers and journalists to spread the word about what needs to be done.

It's going to take politicians to listen to the people and take action on these recommendations.

And the biggest thing is that it is going to take the public to make some noise about how important these issues are to our democracy!

We're here to help facilitate the making of noise by you the people. Let's have our voices heard.

The text of our press release follows below:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today voted to stop Comcast from blocking legal file-sharing activities on its network as a violation of the FCC's net neutrality principles.

The fact that the FCC felt they had sufficient grounds to hold Comcast accountable shows how egregious the violation was, as the FCC's principles are weak and it has given itself limited enforcement capacity.

It is unclear at this time if Comcast will be fined, but at the very least they must stop blocking peer-to-peer traffic and disclose the methods it uses for "network management."

Yesterday, our allies at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (a coalition we are a member of) released a new report titled "Transition in Trouble: Action Needed to Ensure a Successful Digital Television Transition".

This report highlights the problems Americans will face on February 17th, 2009 when all TV transmissions will go to digital instead of analog.

What this means is that millions of Americans, if not prepared, will lose all access to their primary source of news and information. And according to this report, many of those people are NOT prepared for it.

As the report states:
"Broadcast television is the primary news source for most Americans. Especially reliant on free over-the-air television are low-income Americans, seniors, persons with disabilities, non-English speakers, and minorities - many of the communities served by members of the Leadership Conference. These communities also own a disproportionate number of older analog television sets that require a converter box to receive digital broadcasts.

For many members of these communities, free over-the-air broadcast television is a lifeline. It keeps them informed and engaged in their communities and warns them about potential life-threatening situations. Many Americans owe their lives to emergency weather or public safety warnings broadcast to their television sets. "

A key reason Common Cause cares about this is that broadcast TV is also the primary source of information many Americans use to make decisions in our democracy. While of course it should never be the sole source of information, our democracy functions best when information is received from diverse sources, and local news is one of those.

Common Cause supports the recommendations of LCCR's report. We also urge everyone to spread the word about the digital translator coupon program. Go to http://www.dtv2009.gov/ to get a coupon and to learn more about the transition.