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Report on Chicago FCC Forum

Here is a quick report on the Midwest Public Forum on Media Ownership, held in Chicago, April 2.
"The mass media have never been about the public interest. This is why we don't have a Poor Folks Channel in this country. Who would advertise on it?"

University of Chicago media historian Gretchen Soderlund made this provocative statement early in the Midwest Public Forum on Media Ownership, where a number of spirited exchanges took place and bold ideas for promoting diversity in media were aired. Professor Steven Wildman, an economist, noted soberly that "the debate is unbalanced" because while we have lots of ways to measure the economic impact of media consolidation, measuring the social impact is much more difficult.

About 150 people turned out for the forum, and the local public radio station, WBEZ, led its local news magazine that day with a 12-minute story on the forum and the media ownership issue. Press coverage of the forum by local commercial media was scanty, with the notable exception of Chicago Tribune rock critic Greg Kot, who has consistently written about the issue, and mentioned the forum both
in his column and on his WXRT radio show, "Sound Opinions."

The impact of media on the political process sparked some particularly sharp debate. Sherman Kizart of the Black Broadcasters Alliance, speaking about the importance of blacks having access to media ownership, opined that "without WVON, there would have been no Harold Washington; without WBLS, no David Dinkins." Panelist Ed Marszewski of Lumpen Magazine then wondered aloud if without the right-wing dominance of commercial media, we would have a President Bush.

Shaun Sheehan of the Tribune Company was defensive about his company's political coverage, noting that incumbents often refuse to participate in debates. It was noted that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has never participated in one. Common Cause President Chellie Pingree noted that when she was a candidate for office in Maine, she was amazed by how many people would come up to her and mention something she had said in a debate. She said the assumption media companies often make, that people don't want to watch such
programs, is wrong. Barbara Popovic of CAN-TV (Chicago Access Network Television) noted that her channels had run 300 shows on local political races in the most recent Chicago elections, and argued that competition among cable companies is critical for the funding of public access television.
 
 

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