Dear Editor,
What do beer, popcorn and politics all have in common? Well, ifyou're in Madison, Wisc., they all come served under one roof. Irecently attended the National Media Reform Conference at theUniversity of Wisconsin. I met school board members, teachers,professors, health care workers and activists who all shared acommon concern over our nation's media system. I listened tospeakers, such as journalist Bill Moyers, author Robert McChesnyand FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, rant about the follies ofa concentrated and privatized media system.
The main question they asked was, if our democracy depends oncitizens receiving diverse and accurate information to makedecisions about their health, local issues and national concerns,what information do we consume and how are we interpreting it? Theyreferred to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which allowed mediacompanies to enter other markets, swallowing up smaller companiesand creating concentrated media markets.
I attended the conference for two different reasons. My firstconcern is over international or national news coverage which oftenlacks segments told from people of different cultures, ages, socialclasses or genders. Secondly, I have concern with the increase ofcommercialism targeted toward children and adolescents, as well asthe lack of quality programming available for children. America'schildren spend more time watching television than doing any otheractivity, including school. A non-profit organization, ChildrenNow, presented a case study from Los Angeles that showed how thenumber of television shows for children has been cut in half overthe past five years. Their study showed how future mediaconsolidations would eliminate much of children's programming.
The main message I came away with was that the current mediaconcentration of our airwaves, newspapers and television channelsare not good for our children, diversity or our democracy.
Kathy Ballard
graduate student
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