Give Thanks That You Live In Gnashvegas

... and can tell the FCC commissioners to kiss your rosy ass:

Do you want the media to do a better job of covering the issues you care about? Do you miss quality journalism? Are you concerned that the ginormous media conglomerates fail to provide the diverse and independent viewpoints you need? Well, aren't you lucky you live in Nashville?

The FCC has announced the date and location of their second official public hearing on media ownership issues - Monday, December 11 in Nashville, Tennessee (time and location TBD - we'll keep you posted). This is historic! This is huge! This meeting in Nashville is one of only six official meetings on the topic.

Why the meetings? Well, the FCC wants to change media ownership rules (newspaper crossover broadcast ownership & duopoly rules) which will further weaken the protection of local voices. Since the operation of the airwaves is entrusted by us, the owners, to our government, they must make sure to look out for our best interests. Therefore, they are going to ask us what we think about big media, media consolidation, and the importance of local news and programming.

Everyone is invited to come to the hearing and testify - local musicians who cannot get their music played on their local radio stations, local business owners who cannot afford to advertise with their local media, local newspaper staff who lost jobs because of consolidation, people with examples of how local media outlets owned by large corporations ignores important local issues, panders to sensationalism, provides biased coverage of elections, stifles diverse viewpoints, and ignores issues important to people of color, the working class and rural citizens.

I'll post the details as soon as they become available; in the meantime, check out Liberadio(!), from whence this news indirectly came. Good site.
.