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:

In most cities and towns, radio stations are controlled by a handful of wealthy corporations who tend to put their own profits ahead of the needs of the local communities they serve. This is about to change! Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House and Senate, the Local Community Radio Act of 2007, if passed it would allow Low Power FM radio stations to be built across the country.

What is LPFM? They are stations used by schools, community groups, churches and nonprofits to broadcast local information to and about their communities. And they are a great alternative to consolidated commercial radio.

Lower Power FM radio was first established in 2000. Back then, the National Association of Broadcasters, an industry trade group, convinced Congress the Low Power FM would interfere with big radio stations' broadcast. So for the past few years, Low Power FM has been limited to only rural areas.

But a new study from independent MITRE Corp. shows that Low Power FM causes no interference, and can co-exist with major radio stations, even in big cities. We need to take advantage of this positive momentum by urging our representatives to support the Local Community Radio Act of 2007.

Send a message to your Representative today that we need to put more radio stations in the hands of local people!

What a week for radio and talk about good timing. In the past 48 hours a new study was released revealing that talk radio is predominantly conservative. In addition, a bipartisan bill was introduced in both the House and the Senate seeking to expand the number of low power FM radio stations in cities and suburbs across the country. This is not about apples and oranges, this is about demonstrating the need for diversifying the radio and providing the means to do so. On the one hand we have a statistical analysis concluding just how politically one-sided radio broadcasting is followed by promising legislation that aims to open these airwaves up to local communities to regain fresh, diverse sounds.

Free Press and the the Center for American Progress confirms in its report, "The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio," that talk radio, one of the most widely used media formats in America, is dominated almost exclusively by conservatives. It concludes that the gap between conservative and progressive talk radio is the result of multiple structural problems in the U.S. and suggests that diversifying radio ownership would lead to more diverse programming.

The low power radio amendment to the telecom bill just passed the Senate Commerce Committee.  This is a step in the right direction -- low power radio stations cater to the specific needs of local communities, unlike some corporate radio owners I know (cough, Clear Channel, cough).

Thank you to everyone who made calls to their Senators over the past week.  And thank you to the bipartisan group of 14 Senators who did the right thing:  Senators McCain, Allen, Boxer, Cantwell, Dorgan, Inouye, Kerry, Lautenberg, Lott, Nelson, Pryor, Rockefeller, Sununu, and Vitter.

Net neutrality is up next, we'll post an update shortly after the vote happens.

Many thanks to all of you who have been calling your Senators in support of the Snowe-Dorgan net neutrality amendment.  The hearing starts tomorrow afternoon and we'll keep you posted on what happens.

In the meantime, we'd like to ask you to make one more call your Senator on the Commerce Committee.  Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is proposing a amendment to support and expand low power FM radio.  This is important because low power radio ("LPFM") is an antidote to the consolidated, corporate media.  LPFM stations are able to offer programming that truly serves the needs of communities, covering local politics, local music, etc.  They also save lives and provide essential communications infrastructure during emergency situations like last year's Hurricane Katrina.

Please call your Senator and urge support for the McCain low power FM amendment.  The phone numbers are listed here.  We're especially urging people in Louisana to call Sen. David Vitter at (202) 224-4623, and people in South Carolina to call Sen. James DeMint at (202) 224-6121.  Please let us know how the call went by leaving a comment.

You can learn more about LPFM by visiting our friends at the Prometheus Radio Project.