wfn.org | UCC communication advocacy leader helps unveil plan to hold

[powellb@ucc.org]

Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, Inc.
In Washington, D.C., contact:
Gloria Tristani
202-263-2586; tristang@ucc.org
On the web:  http://ocinc.ucc.org

For immediate release
July 19, 2004

Church communication advocacy leader helps unveil
nationwide campaign to hold local broadcasters accountable

Community-by-Community Campaign aims to put public interest first during
election coverage

WASHINGTON, DC ? The managing director of a church communications advocacy
group today (July 19) unveiled a nationwide campaign to hold local
broadcasters accountable for airing programming in the public interest,
particularly election coverage.

Gloria Tristani, managing director of the Office of Communication of the
United Church of Christ, Inc. (OC, Inc.), helped introduce the campaign
during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The "Community-by-Community Campaign for Better Local Broadcasting" was
initiated by the Public Interest, Public Airwaves Coalition, which includes
several public policy, grassroots and media reform groups, including OC,
Inc.

"We are asking citizen groups to meet with their local TV broadcasters and
ask them to sign a pledge to air a minimum of two hours per week of
candidate and electoral discourse for the six weeks leading up to the Nov.
2 election," said Tristani, a former Federal Communications Commissioner.
"That's asking for about 17 minutes a day."

"This year's election is being labeled one of the most partisan, divisive
and raucous in recent history, and many Americans believe that the future
and the values of our country are at stake," Tristani said. Yet study after
study shows that issue and electoral coverage by television stations is at
an all-time low."

A 2002 study by the University of Southern California's Annenberg School
for Communication found that more than half of all top-rated local news
broadcasts aired no campaign coverage in the seven weeks leading up to
Election Day 2002. Tristani says that this statistic needs to change.

"Our democracy is grounded on an informed citizenry," she said. "It is time
for TV broadcasters to truly serve the public and cover the issues [the
public] is concerned about ? whether it's the reasons for going to war, how
environmental policies will affect their community, who will pay for a
loved one's medications or how we will pay for the burgeoning federal
deficit."

On hand to listen to the concerns raised were current FCC Commissioners
Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.

"Some broadcasters are committing to air more candidate-centered speech and
public service announcements this year?but not enough of them," said Copps.
"Wouldn't it be nice to see every broadcaster in this country step up to
the plate and designate the rest of this election year as the "Campaign for
America" and devote some truly meaningful time to it?"

Turning to the larger issue of the negative impact of media consolidation
on local communities, Copps added, "We have now heard from the court, the
Congress and the American people that that FCC got it wrong when it tried
to unleash even more [media] consolidation. It is clear that we need to
start over on these rules and this time make it our goal to protect the
people's interest in the people's airwaves ? And, for Heaven's sake, this
time let's include the American people in the process instead of shutting
them out."

The Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ, Inc. (OC, Inc.)
was established in 1959. Throughout its history, OC, Inc. has advocated for
persons historically excluded from the media, especially women and people
of color; petitioned the FCC to issue EEO rules; sought to guarantee
educational and informational children's programming; defended the Equal
Time Rule for political candidates; supported efforts to establish
low-power FM radio; protected affordable access to emerging technologies;
and urged strengthening of basic corporate character requirements for those
who transmit images and data.

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