We Believe

In a democratic society, the media system should be open to all perspectives and competing voices. As control of most mainstream media outlets becomes concentrated in the hands of a small number of giant corporations, vital local information is being drowned out by a wave of homogenous corporate messages, support for local and national investigative journalism is being cut to improve the bottom line, and the programming we see and hear is increasingly disconnected from the vibrant diversity of our multicultural society.

While the corporate media increasingly ignore important local issues and marginalize communities that advertisers undervalue, the independent and community media sector is experiencing an historic moment of unprecedented opportunity and challenge. As the cost of media production falls and newer distribution systems develop, more people than ever before can make their voices heard through online and offline text, audio, and visual media. At the same time, community media organizations and institutions are threatened by media policies, often authored by Big Media lobbyists, that can minimize the impact of small, noncommercial outlets and stifle competition for audiences.

Many Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) cable access centers are losing support due to new statewide video franchising that strips local munipalities' ability to negotiate for fair terms with video service providers, while those same providers begin to "channel slam" PEG stations, assigning them to channels so high on the "dial" that no one can find them.

Low Power FM Community Radio (LPFM) has flourished all across the country, providing a new outlet to underserved communities since the FCC started licensing the service in 2001. Unfortunately, LPFM licensing has been limited to rural areas and small towns, while Congress hesitates to open the service to more urban communities.

The Media and Democracy Coalition promotes media policies that create opportunities for women and people of color to control media outlets -- both commercial and noncommercial, improve the quality and coverage of journalism from the local to the national level, and enhance the ability of community and independent media organizations to give a voice to communities that have been historically deprived of access to power and influence in our democracy.

We support:

• Stronger media ownership rules at the FCC that would stop media consolidation by tightening ownership caps on radio and television, and ban cross ownership of newspapers and broadcast outlets in individual media markets.

• Initiatives that expand opportunities for women and minority ownership of media, including support for a Minority Ownership Tax-Credit.

• Policies that promote diverse, independent and locally produced media content, including support for community programming requirements and Public, Educational, and Government cable access centers.
• Policies that put low-power FM radio licenses into the hands of more communities.

Learn more

Who Owns the Media?
Who is fighting for better media ownership policies?
Who is working to develop community and independent media?
Want to know more? Check out our media ownership research page.