Call for Billionaires for More Media Mergers
March 22 Wash DC

Attached below is a communique of rabble-rousing protesters
against media consolidation and for the public interest,
to take place at the FCC on March 22, which we
Billionaires for More Media Mergers, are proposing to
counterprotest

http://www.mediatank.org/ http://www.americanresurrection.com/ The Angels of Public Interest Will Descend Upon the FCC! Friday, March 22, from 3:00-6:00 PM 445 12th Street SW in Washington, DC Hark Ye, Friend! Angels of Public Interest shall descend upon Washington, DC three hours past noon on the 22nd day of March in the vicinity of the Federal Communications Commission at 445 12th Street NW. The Angels shall resolutely teachth those who command  power within the FCC that Media and Communications Technology Should Forever Serve People Over Profits. We encourage all Angels such as yourself to come to the gathering dressed in your best Angel garb--halo, wings, glitter, the whole nine yards. If your halo and wings are still at the dry cleaner, perhaps you could at least keep with the Angel color-scheme by wearing a solid white or black shirt. Still, an Angel's presence and attitude are always more important than his or her duds, so if you can't dress up, don't worry about it. This is your time to shine! Why Angels?               Why the FCC?               Our Demands Independent Media               Get Involved I AM HUMAN. WHY ANGELS? FCC Chairman Michael Powell has said "The Market Is My Religion." This most unwise and unrighteous mortal made the mistake of claiming: "The night after I was sworn in, I waited for a visit from the angel of the public interest. I waited all night, but she did not come." Since he had trouble seeing one Angel that dreadful night, on March 22nd we shall descend upon him in droves. We suggest you question your mortality. Maybe you are an Angel after all? If not, we're sure Michael Powell would benefit from being in the company of humans, too. For more information on Michael Powell, including snapshots of him and his friends, visit his tax-payer financed Internet home page at: http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/powell/Welcome.html WHY SHOULD THIS ANGEL CARE ABOUT THE FCC? The Federal Communications Commission is a government agency that could help make media beautiful. Instead, the FCC using its power to collapse control of the media into the hands of fewer and fewer transnational corporations. Dig this... Turning Media Oligopolies into Media Monopolies Just two days after the tragedies of September 11, while most Americans were still trying to cope with the shock and trauma, the never-say-die FCC decided to "review" its own regulations on media cross-ownership. A rule that currently prevents a corporation from owning newspapers and television stations in the same city (aka "market") is now under serious threat. If overturned, locally-owned newspapers, and even newspaper conglomerates like the New York Times Company, Gannett and Knight-Ridder, could be bought up by such community-friendly giants as General Electric, Disney, Viacom and AOL/Time-Warner. This "review" could extend even further into areas like limits on the size and scope of corporations' broadcasting power. One current regulation says that a single corporation can only own enough television stations to reach 35% of American households. If dismantled, a single television network like ABC could potentially buy up the holdings of the few remaining independents and its major competitors. "No more 'Seventh Heaven' in Cleveland, I'm afraid. The WB affiliate's just been bought by Disney!" So really, what does this mean to you? A single transnational corporation--with absolutely no allegiance to your own community, only to its stockholders and advertisers--could own and control the daily and weekly newspapers you read, in addition to the television stations you watch, the radio stations you listen to, the movie theaters and video stores you frequent, the magazines you peruse, the music labels you buy, the internet service provider you use and even the sports teams you root for. Okay, but so what? In a media monopoly, synergistic opportunities to make more money (like stories about the Pets.com sock puppet or the latest happenings on "Survivor") are hyped to the point of making you nauseous. At the same time, really important stories that just might happen to threaten the monopoly's profits (like coverage of the environmental impact of an advertiser's product, or better yet, recent FCC policy decisions) get seriously downplayed. That monopoly on information is bad for you and it's bad for democracy. For more information on the government's plans to eliminate the last remaining media ownership limits, check out MediaChannel's in-depth guide explaining the issues and steps you can take to get involved: http://www.mediachannel.org/news/indepth/fcc Slamming the Door Shut on an Open Access Internet Right now, any company that wants to be an internet service provider can use America's telephone lines to do so. It's called open access. If you want email or web-hosting or instant messaging, you can use your telephone lines to dial-up to Earthlink, AOL, Jimmy's Internet Shack, and dozens of other companies willing to sell those services to you. If you want high-speed internet access over your cable lines, that is another story. Most cable operators are not forced to share their cable lines with other broadband companies. So, in many areas, if you want super-coolcable internet access, there is only one show in town. You pay their monopoly rates, and if thy choose to do so, the potential exists for them to limit the types of websites you get to visit. Right now, major cable giants like Comcast (which is trying to swallow up AT&T's cable operations to become the largest cable company in the world) are pressing the FCC hard to make sure that doesn't change. But it gets worse... On Valentine's Day, the FCC showed its love for Big Business by proposing that regional telephone monopolies get to have complete control over their"souped-up" telephone lines. If the regulation passes, there will be no choice between telephone-based high-speed internet providers just like there is no choice between cable-based high-speed internet providers. (Satellite providers? There are only two major ones in the US, and they're trying to merge.) If the massive media conglomerates get their way, the Internet will become as concentrated as television and radio ownership, with everyone across the nation, and the world, watching and listening to the same exact things. Sites like this could quickly go bye-bye. That will probably sit just fine with FCC Chair Michael Powell, who has called public interest regulations "the oppressor." But does it sit fine with you? To learn more about the threats to open access and ways to combat them, check out the Center for Digital Democracy at: http://www.democraticmedia.org THAT SOUNDS DEFENSIVE. DON"T YOU ANGELS HAVE ANYTHING PRO-ACTIVE TO OFFER? Darn straight we do! For years, our mortal friends inpublic interest groups, labor unions, civil rights organizations, grassroots organizations, universities and elsewhere have offered alternatives to media business as usual. All Angels should bring their own ideas and demands to the glorious March 22nd gathering: media democracy means making room for everyone at the table. But if you're in need of some ideas to chew on before then, here are just a few of the pro-active proclamations and commandments that will be issued that day: I. The FCC shall serve public interest by dismantling the monopolistic concentration of media and communication systems. II. The FCC shall serve public interest by promoting information as a worldwide common good. This shall include defending public airwaves from privatization and dismantling any Intellectual Property Rights policies that act to prohibit the sharing of knowledge. III. The FCC shall serve public interest by supporting and encouraging the creation of media content that respects pluralism and diversity of statement, and balance in terms of gender, race, culture, language and geographic region. IV. The FCC shall serve public interest by promoting the creative, widespread use of interactive technologies in such a way that these technologies are open to all and do not further create new sources of social fragmentation. V. The FCC shall serve public interest by defending civil liberties and privacy from all invasive use of surveillance technology. VI. The FCC shall serve public interest by banning advertising during children's television programs and by supporting the taxation on all advertising aimed at adults. For more great ideas, check out the recommendations for media rights coming out of the World Social Forum at: http://www.comunica.org/cris/ WHAT ABOUT INDEPENDENT MEDIA? Independent media rocks! We're not talking major label, Top 40, Clear Channel rock. We're talking hard-core, harp and heavenly-choir rock! The demands we will make of the FCC on March 22nd and into the future will help defend independent media and bring it further into the mainstream. Things like open access internet accessible to all are good for independent media, as are great diversity among broadcasters, publishers and the like. If you're an independent media-making Angel, please join us on March 22nd. We need your reporting, your photography, your sketches and your poems and more! http://www.indymedia.org I'M IN. HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED? Organizer yourself and as many other Angels as you can muster to descend upon the FCC at 445 12th Street NW on Friday, March 22, 2002 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. Bring whatever props and signs and street theatre you think best! This glorious gathering should enlighten, but also offer rapture! Go wild! If you want to be included in discussions with the Organizing Angels, please sign up for the Media Activist discussion list at: http://www.mediatank.org For immediate release February 25, 2002 http://www.mediatank.org/ CONCERNED "ANGELS OF PUBLIC INTEREST" PAY FCC COMMISSIONER POWELL A VISIT PROTEST PLANNED TO DEMAND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY OF FCC What:  Citizens, activists, media professionals, media scholars, public interest practitioners and members of Media Tank from around the nation will parody the Federal Communications Commission with a loud and colorful press conference and protest. Protesters will come dressed as "Angels of Public Interest" and deliver a message to the Federal Communications Commission that demands government officials fulfil their promise to defend and serve the public interest and maintain a democratic media. Where:  Federal Communications Commission Building, 445 12th Street, NW, Washington, DC When:  Friday, March 22, 2002-3:00 p.m. press conference and protest Who:  Sponsored by Media Tank. The protest will feature outraged citizens dressed like angels who wish to convey a divine message to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell. Also appearing will be an expert on public interest media. Media Tank, a Philadelphia-based non-profit media group, works at the grassroots level to bring awareness of and to promote actions to defend public interest and maintain a democratic media system. Why:  FCC Chairman Michael Powell announced: "The night after I was sworn in, I waited for a visit from the angel of the public interest. I waited all night, but she did not come." Since he had trouble seeing one Angel that dreadful night, protesters will descend in droves on the FCC Building to demonstrate that the public and the public interest do exist and must be served by their government. "The FCC was created to protect the public from monopoly interests, not the other way around. Powell's position indicates a drastic shift in the mission of the FCC -- I would think that would require a vote by Congress," stated Inja Coates, co-founder and director of Media Tank, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit media group. The protest by the Angels of Public Interest also comes in the wake of the recent judicial decision that further jeopardizes the protections the public has against media monopoly. Media Visuals:   Individuals dressed as angels; massive angel puppets carrying signs with "free media" messages; street theater parodying Chairman Michael Powell and the rest of the FCC http://www.mediatank.org/ http://www.americanresurrection.com/

Our Comments on above notice:
"the Billionaires for More Media Mergers, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of the NYC Billionaires for Bush & Bloomberg, will stand committed to
drowning out the message of these public interest devils, no matter
how independent and well-organized they are."

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