Gloria Tristani was the keynote speaker for our lunch and the conference in general. She was very knowledgeable although not very warm and social. However, I don't really think she was there to make friends so that's alright I guess. She used to be a commissioner at the FCC and has made a lot of speeches about the FCC, violence in media and other related topics. These are the highlights of what she spoke about in her luncheon speech and the public policy workshop.
1. The FCC is less involved in net neutrality issues than in video franchising issues (I know I've defined the franchising thing in here before). However, net neutrality laws and rules actually need to be in place a lot more than they currently are to protect user rights- this is kind of the principle of consumer rights, but currently the FCC is reluctant to address the issue of net neutrality and instead focuses more on video franchising which directly affects public access media.
2. The FCC has scheudled a public vote in December to further deregulate the video franchising industry, which pretty much means that they're encouraging a monopoly of communications between a few large corporations (the big 6). Essentially, this will effect the ownership of tv/radio/newspapers and the rest of media ownership rules so that one owner can have multiple venues of communication within the same geographic areas hence creating a disturbing monopoly of information distribution. Apparently this bill is to be decided by the FCC by December 18th and does not even attempt to address the issue of minority ownership.
3. Polls suggest that the public prefers local news, which is threatened by multinational conglomerates. The meeting to address this issue by the FCC is to be in Seattle, and has been said that it "smells like mean spirit" by the public access people. This is a nice twist of Nirvana lyrics (smells like teen spirit) appropriate for Seattle as the home of grunge music. Just a cool little aside there that I picked up on right away when it was quoted from the page Ms. Tristani was reading.
4. Another issue that the FCC is not addressing but should be is the issue that broadcasters should provide material that actually serves the community it is being distributed to, and that there should be more broadcaster accountability. Currently, there really isn't any, which is a big issue because it means that all this one-sided fake news can be distributed with absolutely no reason why the broadcasters should stick to more truthful stories.
5. Ms. Tristani also says that the upcoming presidential election "change may bode well for people" because if we get someone in office who cares more about the public then the FCC may be more concerned with doing right instead of just doing for money and big business.
6. PEG broadcasting (public, educational & government) provides for the people diversity, coverage of local information, and it fills the void of public interest. However, we really need to make an improvement to keep PEG surviving and also strengthening because at the current rate there's a concern that it will end up disappearing all together.
Public Policy:
"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are now controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer Limits." — Opening narration – The Control Voice – 1960s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outer_Limits
7. This Outer Limits quote was read at the beginning of the meeting and it's surprisingly scary how much of it has turned to reality with the media these days. With the big six controlling the media ( http://www.commondreams.org/views/042700-104.htm) the public really has no say anymore in what's included as news, or any other anything that has to do with media. As the ACM sees it, we need to get these issues out of the boardroom and into the public eye. This is both in the sense of the big six boardrooms and also the FCC boardroom. One suggested way to call attention back to the public eye: outside protests. Outside of the FCC meetings. Anywhere really that the public is being oppressed by the media. It's kind of ironic watching all these media people protest the media, but I'm intrigued and want to learn more.
8. A lot of the issue discussed here was about content battles- the internet, programs, papers, who's controlling the information and who should be able to control the information.
9. Back to the net neutrality issue: if we want to broadcast public access on the internet, that'd be cool. Except that a lot of IP providers are blocking types of filesharing, and if we can't network then we can't go nationwide with our programs. Kind of a big issue here.
10. In order to change the issues that are going on, we have to change the politicians who are supporting it. The two things that move politics: people and money. Since we don't have a lot of money, we're going to have to go the route of people. Gather up email lists and and mailing lists, and have those people all contact their local politicians.
11. Politicians that were named as possible people to contact: Dorgan, Olympia Snow, Obama.
12. Random fact: FCC COMMISIONERS ARE SUBJECT TO IMPEACHMENT. That's rather interesting.
The future:
2/17/2007 the TV stations will cease to use analog signal and will only be using digital technology. Without digital technology, the old television sets will only see black. The issue here:
21 MILLION AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS USE RABBIT EARS ONLY (NO DIGITAL).
Talk about the digital divide. When the analog signal goes out, the divide will darken even more than it is currently. And while there will be converter boxes for sale that will switch old tv's to digital technology, millions of Americans will not be able to afford to buy the converters. What to do about this? The state and national governments talk about giving away coupons that will assist in the purchase of the converter boxes. The issue here:
THE COUPONS WILL BE GIVEN OUT IN JANUARY AND HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE THAT EXPIRES BEFORE THE BOXES ARE MADE AVAILABLE, or will only apply to one brand that will be in low supply
-or-
THE COUPONS WILL BE GIVEN NOT TO THOSE WHO FINANCIALLY NEED THEM THE MOST, BUT ON A FIRST-COME FIRST-SERVE BASIS, which means that the people who most need the coupons may never get one and will be totally in the dark.
The future is kind of a gloomy picture.
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