CWA Media Sectors Urge FCC to Reject Media Ownership Changes

CWA, The Newspaper Guild-CWA and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians are urging the Federal Communications Commission to reject changes to broadcast media ownership rules unless the outcome will produce greater diversity and competition in news coverage and local programming.

"CWA members know firsthand how consolidation has harmed the local news and information market for citizens," CWA and the media sectors said in comments submitted to the FCC this week.

CWA represents more than 45,000 journalists, technicians, printers, producers, customer service and sales representatives and other workers in the media industry. Tens of thousands of other media workers have been affected by the industry's massive job cuts.

Over the past decade, consolidation of newsgathering has "run rampant" and newscasts on stations with shared newsrooms have become indistinguishable from each other, NABET-CWA President Jim Joyce said. "This makes a mockery of the FCC's longstanding media goals to promote diversity, competition and localism in exchange for a broadcaster's right to use the public airwaves."

"Most consolidations are being done for efficiencies and that means less content, fewer journalists and less diversity in both content and staff," TNG-CWA President Bernie Lunzer said.

The solution is to reward content creators, leading to more jobs and more original information being produced, be it for TV, newspapers or online. "CWA wants to save news organizations and encourage the growth of new ones," CWA said.

Specific recommendations to prevent further consolidation and the damage it causes include:

• Prohibiting shared service agreements (SSAs) that allow stations to share crews to cover news events.
• Banning agreements that allow one station to eliminate most or all of its news employees and run news produced by a competing station.
• An increased focus on the lack of ownership opportunities for people of color and women.