*Pages 1--153 from Microsoft Word - 34367* UNITED STATES OF AMERICA * * * * * * * * FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION * * * * * * * * FIELD HEARING * * * * * * * * BROADCAST LOCALISM HEARING * * * * * * * * CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA * * * * * * * * CHAIRMAN POWELL PRESIDING * * * * * * * * WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2003 * * * * * * * * 1 Broadcast Localism Hearing 2 I N D E X Statements: Mayor Patrick McCrory..................... 4 Representative Mel Watt................... 23 Representative Michael Price.............. * * * * * * * * Opening Statements: Michael K. Powell, Chairman ............... 9 Michael J. Copps, Commissioner ............ 13 Jonathan S. Adelstein, Commissioner ....... 17 * * * * * * * * Panel One Discussion: Localism Issues Jim Keelor, President & COO, Liberty Corporation ............................... 32 Debbie Kwei, General Manager, WCHH- FM ................................... 34 Tift Merritt, Singer/ Songwriter ........... 37 Joan Siefert Rose, General Manager, WUNC- FM ................................... 42 * * * * * * * * Commissioner and Audience Questions: ........... 64 Break: ......................................... 126 * * * * * * * * 2 Broadcast Localism Hearing 3 I N D E X (Cont. d) Panel Two Discussion: Localism Issues Terri Avery, Operations Manager, Program Director, WBAV- FM ................. 127 Jim Goodmon, President and CEO, Capitol Broadcasting Company .............. 129 Mary Klenz, Co- president, League of Women Voters .................... 133 John Rustin, Director, Government Relations, North Carolina Family Policy Council ...... 135 Michael Ward, General Manager, WNCN- TV ................................... 138 Commissioner and Audience Questions: ........... 141 * * * * * * * * 3 Broadcast Localism Hearing 4 P R O C E E D I N G S 1 5: 35 P. M. 2 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Good evening, Ladies and 3 Gentlemen, and welcome to the first public hearing of the 4 Federal Communications Commission on localism in 5 broadcasting. 6 This event also serves as a fact- gathering inquiry 7 to coincide with your local broadcasters’ licenses coming up 8 for FCC renewal, as they do every eight years. 9 My name is Michael Powell; I serve as chairman of 10 the Federal Communications Commission. I am joined by my 11 two distinguished colleagues, to my right, Commissioner Mike 12 Copps, and to my left, Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. 13 I also want to express my regrets that our other 14 two colleagues cannot be here, Commissioner Abernathy, who 15 has an illness in the family, and Commissioner Martin, who 16 has another commitment. 17 Before we get started in earnest, I have the 18 distinct pleasure of introducing the Mayor of Charlotte who 19 has been terrific in bringing us to his town, the Honorable 20 Patrick McCrory. Mayor? 21 MAYOR McCRORY: Mr. Chairman, Commissioners, 22 welcome to Charlotte, North Carolina. And I also, Mr. 23 Chairman, need to also give my best to the Secretary of 24 State and just let him know that we really appreciate not 25 4 Broadcast Localism Hearing 5 only the work he's doing for our country and for our world, 1 but we also want to let him know we haven't forgotten about 2 America's Promise. He's been very active in our local 3 America's Promise efforts, and we really do appreciate that 4 very much. 5 On behalf of the City of Charlotte we'd like to 6 welcome you to the 19th largest city in the United States of 7 America, the second largest financial center, and the home 8 of the almost undefeated Carolina Panthers, and home in the 9 near future to the Charlotte Bobcats, and also I must also 10 say the Charlotte 49er basketball team. 11 But it's a city we're very, very proud of. We 12 have a population of 610,000 people in an area of about 280 13 square miles. And your job is very important for Charlotte 14 and our future because communications and the media and the 15 interaction with the public is a very, very important 16 priority for us all, as it is in most cities. 17 As the hearings unfold today you are going to hear 18 from many voices because Charlotte is not afraid to speak 19 out, but we will do it in a very, very professional and 20 respectable way. 21 I would like to make you aware I also represent 22 mayors from throughout the country as a member of the Board 23 of Directors of the U. S. Conference of Mayors. And I just 24 want to briefly take advantage of this welcome, if you don't 25 5 Broadcast Localism Hearing 6 mind, Mr. Chairman, to mention two issues that are important 1 to this mayor and also mayors throughout the nation, and 2 that is especially with the issue of homeland security. 3 At this point in time we need to solve the 4 interference issue so channels for our emergency responders 5 are no longer intermingled among and adjacent to commercial 6 channels. This is extremely important to our first 7 responders in this region and throughout the regions 8 throughout the United States. 9 Your support of the consensus plan which is 10 supported by all of the top organizations of the first 11 responders' profession will help enhance public safety by 12 realigning the 800 megahertz system into two distinct 13 blocks, with one for public safety and the other one for 14 wireless carriers. 15 This will virtually eliminate any chance of 16 interference, and once again provide reliability in the 17 first responder communication system without costing local 18 governments millions of dollars. 19 As a member of -- as a new member of Secretary 20 Ridge's Homeland Security Commission, communications is one 21 of the most vital parts of homeland security, and your role 22 in that effort is very, very important to us all. So I ask 23 for your support of the consensus plan and the subsequent 24 funding to address this homeland security issue. 25 6 Broadcast Localism Hearing 7 In addition to the public radio spectrum issue, 1 your rule- making decisions in the area of cable modems and 2 internet service will have a direct impact on the financial 3 well being of cities throughout the United States. 4 Local governments are presently unable to collect 5 franchise fees because of a recent ruling in 2002 6 classifying cable modem services as information rather than 7 cable or telecommunications services. This is talking about 8 our right- of- ways which has been our property which we get a 9 fair return of dollars for. And that basically renews that 10 while at the same time we're getting many unfunded mandates 11 from the Federal Government. We're having our revenue 12 stream taken away from cities throughout the United States. 13 This has caught us quite off- guard, and in 14 Charlotte alone reduces revenues from the $5 million we 15 currently collect from cable franchises. 16 I'm worried about the slippery slope of unfunded 17 mandates that will continue to happen, in addition to the 18 slippery slope of what's next regarding taking funding away 19 from getting money from our right- of- ways. I did want to 20 make you aware of that, although I know you're here to talk 21 about primarily some other issues of important legislation, 22 and I do want to recognize that. 23 I do want to say something about our media outlets 24 here in Charlotte. Overall I want to compliment them 25 7 Broadcast Localism Hearing 8 because they've been extremely responsive in most cases to 1 our public needs, especially during emergencies. 2 Even on 9- 11 we had incredible evacuation from our 3 high rise towers because we are the second financial center 4 in the United States, and most people don't realize that. 5 But on 9- 11 we had people evacuating our high rise buildings 6 and our media and other people involved helped communicate 7 exactly what we needed them to do during 9- 11. 8 And also we needed their help during hurricanes 9 and ice storms and other types of activities, and they've 10 all been extremely cooperative when we, the City, have asked 11 for their assistance, whether it be the TV stations or the 12 radio programs, and we've been very complimentary of them. 13 And they've also continued to provide us good public 14 service. 15 I will say this in Charlotte. There's a very 16 strong community norm of responsibility that is not only put 17 on public servants like myself, but also on the media. And 18 if you cross that norm and you don't get involved in this 19 community, the market and the community will respond and 20 they will respond in many different ways, both with their 21 pocket books, with people speaking out against them if they 22 don't take full responsibility and care for our city. 23 Because we have a firm belief in Charlotte that 24 when you come here, you can make a living, but you also must 25 8 Broadcast Localism Hearing 9 care for the current and future of Charlotte, and you must 1 make it a better place in which to live, work, and raise a 2 family, and that includes the media organizations. 3 We do listen to the marketplace. I say this 4 rather lightly, but an example of that is The Howard Stern 5 Show did not make it here in Charlotte. And that to me says 6 something because we do have community values and community 7 norms that are very, very important to us. And we expect 8 the people in the media markets respond to those norms, care 9 for our community, and help educate the community in many 10 areas, including government service. 11 So on behalf of everyone in the City of Charlotte, 12 welcome, enjoy your stay here. I hope you get to visit our 13 city more. Chairman Powell, I know you got to walk in our 14 city a little bit this morning, but next time stay longer 15 and we'll give you a great tour and we'll take you to a 16 Carolina Panther football game too. 17 Thank you and may God bless each one of you. 18 Thank you very much. 19 (Applause.) 20 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And as a 21 Redskin fan, we're happy to be in greener pastures here in 22 Charlotte. 23 (Laughter.) 24 MAYOR McCRORY: You're coming soon. 25 9 Broadcast Localism Hearing 10 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Yes, sadly. I also want to just 1 thank you and all the wonderful people of Charlotte who have 2 just extended the classic southern hospitality to the 3 Commission. It's been one of the best organized events 4 we've ever had, and I really want to extend my compliments 5 to you and to the citizens of the city. 6 With that let me begin with some opening remarks. 7 Back in August I announced an initiative on localism in 8 broadcasting. A critical part of that effort is for the FCC 9 to get out of Washington and start talking to Americans 10 about the system of broadcasting and how it serves local 11 communities. 12 We are here in Charlotte tonight to kick off a 13 series of public hearings on localism in broadcasting, and 14 to use those hearings as a part of the record we will use to 15 make decisions on whether or not to renew the licenses of 16 your local broadcasters. 17 So what is localism and why does the FCC care 18 about it? Generally speaking, localism is the 19 responsiveness of a broadcast station to the needs and 20 interests of its community. Promoting localism is one of 21 the principle reasons the FCC regulates broadcast television 22 and radio. 23 Before a radio or television station can go on the 24 air, it must receive a broadcast license from the FCC. If 25 10 Broadcast Localism Hearing 11 the FCC determines the applicant is qualified to hold a 1 license, one is issued. 2 In return, however, the licensee promises to serve 3 the public interest through its property. A key part of the 4 public interest is that the broadcaster air programming that 5 is responsive to the community of license. This public 6 interest obligation applies uniquely to broadcasters and is 7 what singularly distinguishes them from cable or satellite 8 channels. 9 The FCC has promoted localism in two major ways. 10 One is by limiting the number of stations an entity can own. 11 But regardless of who owns the station, that owner is 12 legally obligated to serve the local community. This 13 inquiry here seeks to examine if that is happening, and if 14 not, to consider the actions the Commission might take, 15 including potentially not renewing an owner's broadcast 16 license for failing to serve the public interest. 17 In the past the Commission tried to promote 18 localism by requiring broadcasters to air certain kinds of 19 programming that it believed was in the public interest. 20 Over time, however, the media environment became more 21 competitive and past FCC's have relied more on free markets 22 to ensure that citizens received the programming they 23 wanted. 24 But a station's duty to serve its local community 25 11 Broadcast Localism Hearing 12 has never changed. Today's hearing begins an on- the- ground 1 inspection of how our broadcast system is working for local 2 communities. Specifically we have three main objectives of 3 these hearings. 4 First, we want to hear directly from members of 5 the public on how they think their local broadcasters are 6 doing; what you do like, what do you dislike; what do you 7 think should be done differently? 8 Secondly we want to hear from broadcasters about 9 their localism efforts. I know many broadcasters are 10 justifiably proud of their work to serve their local 11 communities and we need to hear from them. 12 And third, we want to educate the members of the 13 public on how they can participate at the FCC when a local 14 station's license is up for renewal. 15 I see these hearings as an opportunity to bring 16 these license renewals to life. It is one thing for us as 17 commissioners to sit at our desks in Washington and read a 18 dry rule application; quite another to talk directly with 19 the people who listen to those stations every day. 20 We chose Charlotte as our first hearing site in 21 part because the radio and TV licenses for North Carolina 22 and South Carolina are up for renewal shortly, and we wanted 23 to begin spreading the word that renewals are not just an 24 inside the Washington Beltway phenomenon. They're open to 25 12 Broadcast Localism Hearing 13 anyone who has something to say about their local stations. 1 Along these lines I have asked the FCC staff to 2 prepare a short primer on how to participate in the license 3 renewal process. Those will be available to you on the 4 tables in the back of the room. This primer is also located 5 on our website at www. fcc. gov/ localism. 6 Finally I want to thank the panelists for 7 preparing testimony and joining us tonight. The 8 participation of local broadcasters is critical if these 9 hearings are to be meaningful, and I extend my sincere 10 thanks for your presence here tonight. And I want to wish 11 to thank the local groups and individuals who have agreed to 12 speak tonight as well. 13 And finally I want to extend a welcome to the 14 citizens of Charlotte who are here in attendance, as well as 15 those watching on TV or listening via the FCC's audio 16 webcast. We very much look forward to tonight's discussion. 17 With those opening remarks, let me give my 18 colleagues an opportunity to speak, and I first introduce 19 you to Commissioner Mike Copps. Commissioner? 20 COMMISSIONER COPPS: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 21 Good evening and welcome to all. It's always a happy 22 occasion for me to return to the Carolinas, having lived for 23 a number of years just down the road in Spartenburg and 24 having many pleasant memories of being a student at Chapel 25 13 Broadcast Localism Hearing 14 Hill. I am most grateful for the hospitality that we have 1 received while we are here today, grateful for everybody 2 taking the time to turn out this evening. 3 I'm particularly pleased to see Congressman Mel 4 Watt from Charlotte, the 12th Congressional District, and my 5 friend David Price from the 4th District here tonight. Both 6 of these gentlemen have shown strong and visionary 7 leadership in a host of media issues. 8 Tonight we continue a truly remarkable grassroots 9 dialogue about the future of our media. Over the course of 10 the past year we have witnessed a growing national concern 11 over what many people believe are disturbing trends in the 12 media. Citizens from all over the country, conservative and 13 liberal, republican and democrat, young and old, rural and 14 urban, north and south have come together to express their 15 concern and even alarm. 16 For many months the discussion focused on 17 ownership rules implemented by the Federal Communications 18 Commission with people asking how many or perhaps, more 19 accurately, how a few broadcast stations, media 20 conglomerates should be allowed to own, or for what purposes 21 are stations granted licenses, and how does the public 22 interest fare in the more heavily consolidated environment. 23 This ownership dialogue continues in Congress and in the 24 courts around the nation. 25 14 Broadcast Localism Hearing 15 Tonight we address core media values, particularly 1 localism, from a little different perspective. But we must 2 realize, of course, that it is all part of a larger 3 discussion about protecting the people's interest and the 4 people's airwaves. No part of this grassroots dialogue can 5 be divorced from any other part. 6 As we begin this first of several Commission 7 hearings, we should return to basic principles reminding 8 ourselves that all of us own the airwaves, and the 9 corporations that are given the privilege of using this 10 precious public asset, and to profit from that use in 11 exchange for their commitment to serve the public interest. 12 Broadcasters have been given very special 13 privileges and they have very special responsibilities to 14 serve their local communities. 15 Since the 1980's, in my opinion, fundamental 16 protections of the public interest have been weakened and 17 have withered. Requirements like meeting with members of 18 the community to determine the needs and wishes of their 19 local audience, teeing up controversial issues for viewers 20 and listeners, encouraging antagonistic points of view, and 21 providing viewpoint and program diversity, to name just a 22 few of the obligations that once we had. 23 In addition we have pared back the license renewal 24 process from one wherein every three years examined very 25 15 Broadcast Localism Hearing 16 rigorously whether the broadcaster was actually serving the 1 public interest, to one wherein now companies need only send 2 us a short form every eight years and generally nothing 3 more. These days getting a license renewed is pretty much a 4 slam dunk. It's not called postcard renewal for nothing. 5 So step by step, rule by rule, public interest 6 protections strike me as being weaker, much weaker than they 7 used to be. I believe this has happened at a high and 8 dangerous cost to the American people. Some call my concern 9 excessive, but I believe in my bones that the survival of 10 fundamental value hinges on the outcome of this national 11 dialogue. 12 We come to Charlotte to talk directly with members 13 of this community and region and to tap its local expertise 14 as to what is happening here. How can we possibly know if 15 licensees are serving their communities without hearing from 16 the community? Are stations adding to the civic dialogue? 17 Are they adhering to community standards, or are they airing 18 excessive amounts of indecent and excessively violent 19 programming? 20 Are they encouraging local talents and local 21 genius? Are they reaching out to minority groups within the 22 community? 23 I know we will leave here tonight knowing facts 24 and having perspectives that just wouldn't have floated into 25 16 Broadcast Localism Hearing 17 us had we remained in Washington. We start with our panels 1 tonight and I would like to thank each panelist for taking 2 the time and trouble to be with us this evening. 3 What I'm especially looking forward to is hearing 4 from members of the public that have given up their evening 5 to be here to discuss the importance of local broadcasting 6 in their communities. I have seen this around the country, 7 the interest and the high value that the American people 8 place on localism in broadcasting. 9 And I think it shows how important this issue is 10 here when so many of you turn out in this room this evening 11 and I understand in the overflow rooms also. North Carolina 12 is making its voice heard, and I am enormously pleased to be 13 here to listen and to learn. 14 So I thank each of you, and I thank you, Mr. 15 Chairman, for bringing us together tonight. 16 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you, Commissioner, for 17 your remarks. Commissioner Adelstein. 18 COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 19 It's great to be here in Charlotte to begin this dialogue 20 on how well broadcasters are serving their local 21 communities. 22 I'd like to commend Chairman Powell and my fellow 23 Commissioners for bringing us together and getting these 24 historic hearings underway. 25 17 Broadcast Localism Hearing 18 I think the key is, as the Chairman said, for us 1 to get outside of Washington and to hear directly from 2 people in communities like Charlotte. And we're doing a 3 series of these across the country in a very select group of 4 cities, and I just think that it's so important that we do 5 so. I also recommend that we continue to keep our eye on 6 what's happening in local communities as we go through each 7 of these license renewals. 8 I'd like to recognize Congressman Watt and 9 Congressman Price for their leadership on these issues, and 10 thank them for being here. 11 I think that it's also critical that these 12 hearings are taking place just in time for us to tell the 13 public how they can participate in this upcoming round of 14 license renewals. This is really, I think, historic that we 15 are looking at this issue at all, because these have been, 16 as Commissioner Copps outlined, a postcard process. 17 Now we're getting out here, we're taking it 18 seriously, we want to hear from people, we want to see 19 what's happening. 20 I think that the broadcasters, they're in many 21 cases doing a great job, but we need to keep people's feet 22 to the fire to ensure that they're continuing to serve their 23 local communities. I don't think most people in the public 24 are even aware that these license renewals are happening, 25 18 Broadcast Localism Hearing 19 and we're here to let you know how you can get involved. 1 Tonight's hearing falls around the hearings that 2 were held around the country last spring to hear public 3 input about the media ownership rules that we have. I think 4 those hearings were tremendously valuable. 5 We heard firsthand from thousands of people, and I 6 sense that there is a real frustration out among the public 7 about the media. And one of the issues of concern was 8 localism, and I think it's appropriate that we now focus on 9 that issue head- on. And I think that we'll learn a lot 10 about that issue, even more deftly than we did last time. 11 So we're here to talk about localism and I'd like 12 to talk a little bit about what that means. Every community 13 has its local needs, its local talents, local elections, 14 local news, and local culture. And localism reflects the 15 commitment to local news and public affairs programming, but 16 it also means a lot more. 17 It means providing opportunities for local self- 18 expression, it means reaching out, developing and promoting 19 local performing artists and other local talent. It means 20 making programming decisions that serve local needs. It 21 means making sure that the coverage reflects the makeup of 22 the community. 23 I was fascinated to learn, for example, that the 24 Hispanic population in North Carolina has increased by 25 19 Broadcast Localism Hearing 20 nearly 400 percent since 1990, with Raleigh, Greensboro and 1 Charlotte three of the four fastest growing Hispanic cities 2 in America. We need to know the concerns of the growing 3 Hispanic community as well as the African- American community 4 and other minority groups, that they are getting the 5 attention that they deserve through the licensed broadcast 6 outlets in this community. 7 Localism also means the station being responsive 8 to the community in other ways, such as dedicating the 9 resources to discover and address the needs of the 10 community. It means being accessible, sending reporters and 11 cameras out to all parts of the community, to all the 12 different stories, to really cover what's happening in the 13 community, documenting those efforts that they undertake for 14 the public to review in files that are accessible to 15 residents in the communities so they can know what the 16 station's doing. 17 I think there are many local broadcasters in this 18 country who have shown a long- term and a real commitment to 19 community service and to localism, and some stations do very 20 well with this, including some real standouts here in North 21 Carolina, and I think we'll hear from representatives of 22 some of those today. 23 So we're here tonight to learn how we can 24 encourage other stations to put the needs of the local 25 20 Broadcast Localism Hearing 21 community first. That's the cornerstone of the public's 1 social contract with broadcasters. 2 As outlined by my colleagues, they get a valuable 3 license from the FCC to use the public airwaves, and then 4 they agree to act as a trustee for the public interest in 5 return. We don't give out those licenses simply to 6 broadcasters on a national basis like in other countries. 7 In many cases, like the BBC in England, they provide 8 nationwide licenses. Here historically we provide local 9 licenses to local communities and insisted that they serve 10 local needs. 11 So each -- you as licensees should take that 12 obligation very seriously and make sure to inform the 13 community about local elections, about political 14 controversies, about good things that are happening in the 15 community, and other matters that are related to the self- 16 governance of a democracy. 17 Thinking of my own family and my own father, for 18 example, was an elected republican state representative in 19 my home state of South Dakota, and he sees the need for the 20 media to cover these local concerns, what's happening in the 21 state government and local government. 22 And I think he's really onto something because if 23 you look at a study that was done of all the combined TV 24 coverage of the 2000 campaign, including local, state and 25 21 Broadcast Localism Hearing 22 federal, all -- from the sheriff to the President of the 1 United States, 74 seconds per night is all we saw. People 2 heard a lot more from paid political ads in 74 seconds. 3 Maybe that's why half our population doesn't even 4 bother to vote. I don't think that's a very healthy thing 5 for our democracy. And half our people not voting isn't a 6 healthy democracy. 7 And the licensees of our broadcast stations have 8 an obligation to do something about it, they have an 9 obligation to cover what's happening in the community, to 10 get people aware of what's happening, to not just have them 11 get all their information from these overwhelming negative 12 ads. They need to cover local political issues. 13 So we're about to begin an in- depth examination. 14 This is the beginning of it, of how we, the FCC, can improve 15 how broadcasters serve their local communities, and we need 16 your input as we launch this investigation. 17 For example, how to hold stations accountable when 18 shock- jock programming offends community standards or harms 19 the residents. We've heard some stories about that right 20 here in North Carolina. 21 So I look forward to hearing from all the 22 excellent panelists and I want to thank them for coming from 23 all across the State of North Carolina to share their views 24 about how the local communities are being served, or how in 25 22 Broadcast Localism Hearing 23 the case of the broadcasters they are serving their local 1 communities. 2 So thank you all for coming out and sharing your 3 views, and I thank the public for coming here, and I look 4 forward to hearing from you. 5 I've got a two- week baby home, so I've got to rush 6 out right afterwards to get back and make sure I'm serving 7 my own immediate local community. Thank you for your time 8 and I look forward to hearing from the witnesses. 9 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you very much, 10 Commissioner Adelstein. As you've heard, we are really 11 honored to have with us two very distinguished members of 12 the United States Congress who have taken some time to come 13 and lend their support to the hearing. 14 We're going to hear from Congressman David Price, 15 Democratic representative from Chapel Hill, first elected to 16 Congress in 1986, and also Congressman Mel Watt, the 17 Democratic representative from here in Charlotte who has 18 served since 1992. 19 And I'd like to invite them first, if Congressman 20 Watt would like, to make a few remarks, and we welcome you 21 to do that, sir. 22 CONGRESSMAN WATT: I want to personally thank 23 Chairman Powell and the other Commissioners for providing 24 this opportunity for our residents to express their feelings 25 23 Broadcast Localism Hearing 24 about the importance of localism in broadcasting. 1 I'm mindful that the purpose of this hearing is to 2 get the input of the people, not their representatives in 3 Congress. Consequently, my comments will be brief and I've 4 submitted a longer version of what I have to say to the 5 secretary. 6 Before proceeding to my substantive comments, I 7 want to make two brief points that may be unnecessary 8 because they are so obvious. I do so only because I think 9 they should not be taken for granted. 10 First, isn't it great to live in a country that 11 places a value on having a discussion such as this which 12 first and foremost assumes an unequivocal commitment to the 13 importance of the First Amendment and to the importance of 14 the rights the First Amendment protects, free speech and 15 free and open press? 16 What would many people around the world give to 17 have an opportunity such as this to express themselves? 18 Second, while tonight's discussion is about 19 localism in broadcasting, and you're likely to hear over and 20 over that localism is important, I think it is also 21 important to emphasize that every element of our system of 22 broadcasting plays a valuable role whether the local, 23 regional, national, print, television, radio or tech. In 24 short, the best citizen is an informed citizen. 25 24 Broadcast Localism Hearing 25 Substantively, my bottom line is that localism in 1 broadcasting is extremely important. That probably became 2 obvious from a high profile source recently, the President 3 of the United States. 4 President Bush complained about how he perceived 5 that the national media was filtering good information about 6 the way things are going in Iraq, and indicated that he was 7 turning to local broadcasters to get the, quote, real story 8 out. If all of our media had been national media, that 9 option clearly would not have been available to the 10 President. This example clearly illustrates the value of 11 differing perspectives in the media. 12 I suspect you're going to hear a parade of people 13 today who agree with the President that localism is 14 important. I'll also be surprised if you don't also hear 15 that the current local and national breakdown seems to be 16 working real well in this community, which leads me to the 17 first point I want to make. 18 If the system wasn't broke, why did the FCC try to 19 fix it? Already today ten companies control the huge 20 majority of media, radio, television, books, magazines, 21 cable, internet, movies and music. One can make a good case 22 that localism was about the only thing that was keeping some 23 semblance of balance in the system. 24 So why would the FCC want to make a bad situation 25 25 Broadcast Localism Hearing 26 worse by running the risk of reducing that important local 1 ingredient? 2 In short, there seems to me to be no justification 3 for the FCC's June 2 decision to allow one company in our 4 largest cities to own up to three TV stations, the daily 5 newspaper, eight radio stations, the cable system and the 6 internet sites affiliated with all of these. 7 If the decision stands, I believe fewer and fewer 8 large corporations will control more and more of our media. 9 And I believe we could expect lower standards, less 10 attention to local interest and talent, and a dramatic 11 decline in the diversity of public voices we hear, see and 12 read. I think this would be bad for our democracy. That is 13 why I have been a part of ongoing efforts in Congress to 14 reverse the 3- 2 decision of the FCC. 15 I want to make a second point quickly, but with no 16 less passion. There are important elements to diversity in 17 media other than just the issue of whether local groups or 18 national corporations own the bulk of our media outlets. 19 One element that is extremely important to my 20 constituents and to me is the lack of racial minorities in 21 the media ownership. This issue was addressed eloquently by 22 Commissioner Adelstein on July 22nd in his speech delivered 23 to the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council. I 24 agree with the Commissioner that the FCC's new ownership 25 26 Broadcast Localism Hearing 27 rules would likely make, quote, "the situation for 1 minorities and new entrants go from bad to worse", close 2 quote. 3 Despite representing more than 29 percent of the 4 U. S. population, minority broadcasters own only four percent 5 of the nation's commercial stations, a decline of 14 percent 6 since enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996; and 7 1.9 percent of the nation's commercial television stations. 8 In a report and order released by the FCC on July 9 2, 2003 and published in the Federal Register on August 5, 10 2003, the FCC stated, quote, "that encouraging minority and 11 female ownership historically has been an important 12 Commission objective and we affirm that goal here", close 13 quote. 14 Both because I think minority ownership is 15 important and because I believe minority ownership best 16 promotes a diversity of viewpoints, I simply want to 17 encourage the FCC to make -- to take this objective 18 seriously and make a real commitment to it. 19 Enough said on this issue. I thank you again, Mr. 20 Chairman, for being here. I hope you enjoy this great city, 21 and I'm delighted to have you in the 12th Congressional 22 District of North Carolina. 23 (Applause.) 24 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you, Congressman Watt. 25 27 Broadcast Localism Hearing 28 Congressman Price, please. 1 CONGRESSMAN PRICE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let 2 me add my welcome to you and other members of the Commission 3 for holding this, the first of your nationwide hearings on 4 localism and license renewal here in North Carolina. We 5 welcome you and we appreciate the effort you have made to 6 take this show on the road, and to start out in this 7 community. 8 In a way this discussion tonight we'll continue 9 the discussion we had at Duke University in March with 10 Commissioners Copps and Adelstein when the issue was 11 localism as it pertained to media ownership. 12 I'm happy to see many familiar faces here tonight 13 from the Triangle area of North Carolina. We've known for a 14 long time how important local media are to our communities, 15 but I must say we hardly anticipated how loudly this issue 16 would resonate across the political spectrum. 17 I remember from my short- lived career in radio in 18 one of those one thousand watt stations that sprang up in 19 the 1950s, how stations were required to document their 20 local programming and public service at license renewal 21 time. Most of these rules are no more. But the need to 22 ensure the local media meet the needs of their communities 23 remain. 24 The license renewal process is an important part 25 28 Broadcast Localism Hearing 29 of that, I believe, but it can't do the job alone. Network 1 executives can't do that from their corporate offices in New 2 York either. Rather, local broadcasters have a day- to- day 3 responsibility. These broadcasters are responsible for 4 programming that covers and engages their local communities. 5 Indeed, they're often at their best when they compete with 6 each other in providing such coverage. 7 Viewers and listeners have told us in overwhelming 8 numbers how much they value this local orientation and want 9 it encouraged, not smothered. 10 Localism is partly about who owns television and 11 radio stations, but it's also about how broadcasters 12 determine their programming, programming that adheres to 13 their community standards, not the standards of some reality 14 TV producer in Los Angeles or some Dixie Chicks bashing 15 political operative in Washington. 16 Just look at radio. We're living in a world where 17 one or a very few companies can control most of the stations 18 we listen to. Many local stations these days are 19 essentially run by remote control. Post- 1996 deregulation 20 has not been kind to localism and radio. Why on earth would 21 we want to see television go down that same path? 22 Diversity in media isn't about 200 flavors on 23 cable or on satellite TV or radio. It's about the diversity 24 and the independence of our media, media that reflect the 25 29 Broadcast Localism Hearing 30 standards and needs of our communities. 1 Americans have made their voice heard in this 2 debate and I expect we'll hear a good deal more of that 3 tonight. My thanks to the Commission for making this 4 exchange possible. 5 And, Mr. Chairman, if I might, in a demonstration 6 that concern for localism does in fact cross party lines, 7 I'd like to ask that a fine article recently from The 8 Charlotte Observer be included in the record by former 9 Senator Jesse Helms and Representative Richard Burr entitled 10 Keep Control of TV Local. 11 (Applause.) 12 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you very much, 13 Congressman. I'll be happy to submit that for the record. 14 At this point I'd like to ask the secretary of the FCC to 15 please announce officially tonight's meeting. 16 SECRETARY DORTCH: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good 17 evening to you, Commissioners, panelists and special guests. 18 The following are the procedures for today's Localism Task 19 Force public hearing. We will utilize a time machine to 20 maintain time limits on each presentation. Each panelist 21 will have a total of three minutes to make their individual 22 presentation. 23 The green light will signal for the first two 24 minutes of your remarks. When the yellow light signals, 25 30 Broadcast Localism Hearing 31 you'll have one minute remaining. At that time you should 1 sum up your presentation and closing remarks. The red light 2 signals the end of your allotted time. Please conclude your 3 remarks at that time. Thank you. 4 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you, Madam Secretary. Let 5 me take a second to explain to the audience exactly how the 6 program will proceed before we get started. 7 The first panel will offer their testimony, and as 8 they are speaking, all members of the public are invited to 9 write down any questions you may have for the panelist on 10 notecards. You'll find those notecards in the packets you 11 picked up when you came in. 12 Those cards will be collected and delivered up 13 here and we'll pose as many of the questions to the 14 panelists as time permits. In addition, my colleagues and I 15 may take the opportunity to ask questions of the panelists 16 as well. 17 Following the first panel we will have an open mic 18 period, and all members of the audience are welcome to offer 19 comments or ask questions of the panelists directly. We'll 20 then take a short break, and the second panel will make 21 their presentations, again followed by questions from the 22 bench and written questions from the audience. 23 So without further ado we should get started with 24 our first panel, and let me please ask Mr. Keelor to provide 25 31 Broadcast Localism Hearing 32 your opening statement. Welcome and thank you for being 1 with us. 2 MR. KEELOR: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, 3 Commissioners. My name is Jim Keelor; I'm president and COO 4 of Liberty Corporation based in Greenville, South Carolina. 5 Liberty owns fifteen television stations, including WIS, the 6 NBC affiliate in Columbia, and WWAY, the ABC affiliate in 7 Wilmington. Our other markets run from 50 to 180. 8 I started out in broadcasting 36 years ago as a 9 local reporter, so I think I've seen the industry from the 10 ground up and I'm grateful for the opportunity to share some 11 of the experiences of how a television station serve their 12 local markets. 13 Shortly after beginning work at one of our 14 stations, every new Liberty employee received from me a 15 personal letter and that letter begins, quote, "we here at 16 Liberty are very serious about our commitments to the 17 communities we serve", end quote. And while there are too 18 many examples of this commitment to describe here, I would 19 like to mention just a few of those station efforts. 20 First, as most of you know, the Carolinas have an 21 unfortunate history of hurricanes and other severe weather, 22 and over the years both WWAY and WIS have dedicated 23 thousands of hours to covering these storms, most recently 24 Hurricane Isabel. 25 32 Broadcast Localism Hearing 33 Liberty has invested millions of dollars in state- 1 of- the- art weather tracking equipment and other technology 2 which help us to broadcast localized emergency warnings and 3 report on the community recovery efforts. We have also 4 organized fundraisers to help those families who were 5 victims of the storms. 6 Liberty's stations also devote a substantial 7 amount of free air time to covering local politics. WWAY 8 and the North Carolina Broadcasters Association have a 25- 9 year history of producing debates among statewide political 10 candidates. WIS produced and aired live debates before both 11 the primary and general elections for governor in South 12 Carolina in 2002. 13 Prior to that general election WIS aired live 14 interviews during its top- rated evening newscast with 18 15 candidates for federal and statewide offices, and profiles 16 of eight different key issues in the races for the U. S. 17 Senate and governor, all at no cost to the candidates. 18 Our stations also recognize their special place in 19 the community as a source of education and culture. For 20 example, WWAY provided special programming on the debut and 21 opening of the new Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, and a 22 thirty- minute special just before that museum opened. 23 WIS, for its part, recently launched a terrific 24 new program called "A Class Act" which helps teachers in 25 33 Broadcast Localism Hearing 34 South Carolina equip their classrooms with needed supplies 1 in the face of government cuts in educational funds. 2 Commissioners, we think it's important for you to 3 understand that Liberty is not unique in its commitment to 4 localism. It's what broadcasters must strive to do. Local 5 stations understand that given their unique place in the 6 community, it is important and a necessity for them to be 7 good corporate citizens. 8 But we also know that in this era of six 9 nationwide TV networks, 80 cable channels, high- speed 10 internet, and all the other sources of information out 11 there, we must differentiate ourselves if we're going to 12 attract and hold the attention of our viewers. The best way 13 for us to do that is to be involved in our communities, be 14 responsible and responsive to the concerns of our local 15 audience. That is something Liberty Corporation learned a 16 long time ago, and it is the main reason we've been able to 17 survive and flourish as a group of stations located in small 18 markets for so many years. 19 Again, thank you for this opportunity. I'll be 20 happy to answer any questions from the Commissioners or the 21 audience might have. 22 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you very much, sir. Ms. 23 Debbie Kwei, General Manager of WCHH. 24 MS. KWEI: Thank you and good evening. My name is 25 34 Broadcast Localism Hearing 35 Debbie Kwei and I'm the General Manager of WCHH, 92.7 here 1 in Charlotte. We are a member of the Radio One family which 2 serves local markets with a large African- American presence. 3 Having lived in Charlotte since 1988, I was 4 thrilled when WCHH hired me three years ago as it set out to 5 bring a unique urban format to my local community. I'm 6 delighted to speak to you today on the subject of localism 7 because I'm proud of the achievements WCHH has made in 8 reaching out to the African- American community in Charlotte. 9 First I'd like you to know that Radio One came to 10 the Charlotte area because of its large and growing African- 11 American population of over 300,000 residents. Before 12 WCHH's arrival, 92. 7 FM had been an exclusively oldies 13 station with a significantly smaller minority following than 14 it enjoys today. 15 Welcoming the addition of our station to the 16 market, the local arts and entertainment tabloid, Creative 17 Loafing, gave us its best format change award for 2001. 18 Rather than having to turn to national cable outlets like 19 MTV or BET, Charlotte's many urban music fans can tune into 20 one of three very local radio venues in fulfilling their 21 musical interests. 22 The urban radio heard in Charlotte is not the same 23 as that of Los Angeles or Detroit. We regularly invite 24 listeners to our offices and ask for feedback about our 25 35 Broadcast Localism Hearing 36 programming. We combine their input with other research to 1 help us know which artists, whether national or local, 2 Charlotte's urban music fans want to hear. Through this 3 process WCHH creates a format that reflects the particular 4 musical tastes of southern urban listeners. 5 For example, in addition to popular national 6 artists, we are always excited to air local urban talent, as 7 we have done with a young North Carolina artist named 8 Sherica. Because of her local appeal, I doubt people in 9 other cities can hear Sherica as often as they have done on 10 WCHH. 11 WCHH also airs a weekly program called Heat From 12 the Street which exclusively features local artists. To 13 find other new acts that appeal to our listeners, station 14 program directors in Charlotte will meet with 15 representatives of independent labels weekly. 16 By attracting a larger music following, WCHH is a 17 perfect outlet for speakers wishing to reach the local 18 African- American community, whether on issues of personal 19 well- being or during local emergencies like recent Hurricane 20 Isabel. 21 Seizing upon these opportunities is our Life 22 Improvements for Everyone Campaign which tackles six issues 23 per year that are a particular concern to the African- 24 American community. 25 36 Broadcast Localism Hearing 37 For example, in the upcoming campaign WCHH will 1 run public service announcements with the local American Red 2 Cross Chapters to inform listeners about the low supply of 3 minority bone marrow donors and opportunities for free bone 4 marrow testing for minorities. 5 To be sure the local Red Cross has the attention 6 of our listeners, we will air stories about the sister of 7 popular urban artist Nelly who is suffering from leukemia. 8 This month for breast cancer awareness, we asked 9 representatives from the local clinics to speak on the air 10 about the need for regular detection measures. 11 In airing these and other public service messages 12 we could not reach Charlotte's African- American community if 13 we hadn't first met our locality's particular interest in 14 urban music. Thus, localism for us is learning and catering 15 to the listening interest of our local target audience 16 working with the community on important issues of public 17 concern, and providing an outlet for local artists. 18 Thank you very much for your time. I look forward 19 to hearing your questions. 20 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you very much, Ms. Kwei. 21 Our next panelist is Tift Merritt. 22 MS. MERRITT: Hi, my name is Tift Merritt. I'm a 23 major label recording artist. And if you haven't ever heard 24 of me, it's because I'm not on your radio. I've brought my 25 37 Broadcast Localism Hearing 38 record if you want to pass them out; I'd appreciate it. 1 Time Magazine named my debut the number six record 2 of 2002; Billboard called me a major new artist; CMT 3 regularly played my music video. Here's my spread in Vanity 4 Fair and I was on David Letter- -- I'm legit, and I'm not 5 here to complain that I'm not the queen of the radio. 6 I'm here because I'm a North Carolina musician; 7 I'm a North Carolina businesswoman. Everyone in my band is 8 from North Carolina. The support of my North Carolina fans 9 has really allowed me to accomplish what I have, so you're 10 looking at local. 11 And when I was invited to speak today, I was told 12 that today's debates are about localism, not about 13 ownership. As a local, I want to make it clear that any 14 conversation about localism without regard to media 15 ownership is absolutely avoiding the heart of this issue and 16 certainly cannot render a sincere solution. 17 (Applause.) 18 I only have three minutes, so I'm going to cut you 19 off. In Fortune magazine the president of Clear Channel, 20 Lowery Mays, I am not attacking him; I'm saying what he 21 said. He said that his company is not interested in music, 22 in songs, in DJs; they sell advertising. 23 I'm here today because I'm very distressed that 24 the FCC feels comfortable allowing the public airwaves to 25 38 Broadcast Localism Hearing 39 rest in the hands of people who admittedly do not care about 1 content. The airwaves are public; the airwaves serve the 2 public, not a corporate bottom line, and this is where 3 localism begins. 4 In North Carolina I've sold as many records as 5 people like Toby Keith and Alan Jackson. My local country 6 affiliate knew about this. People called in and requested 7 me. And because I'm local, and a lot of them told me about 8 it. And you would think that because I was making such 9 major inroads nationally that the station would have been 10 thrilled to support me. Not once. 11 And, in fact, the people who called in were told 12 by the DJs that the DJs wanted to play me, but management 13 was going to have to change the programming. 14 And on top of that, when this issue came to light 15 earlier this spring and received some publicity, the station 16 said well, it's because Tift's record company didn't contact 17 us, which was absolutely, probably the truth because my 18 record company, who I have a wonderful relationship with, 19 did make the decision that they were not going to spend a 20 lot of money on an expensive radio campaign. 21 Do you understand what that means? It costs money 22 to get on the radio. And, you know, these executives are 23 really smart, but they're not smart enough they want me to 24 pay it back, so they put it on my royalty statement of what 25 39 Broadcast Localism Hearing 40 I'm financially responsible to them for. So it's, you know, 1 it's there. 2 I think in my instance I don't understand how the 3 airwaves can be a place of healthy competition. For 4 example, radio conglomerates claim that programming is 5 localized, and I don't see how this can be true in this 6 case. And deregulation proponents claim that the airwaves 7 are public. But how, when a station disregarded listeners 8 in the signal range, how can that be true? 9 I want to make it very clear that I'm a realistic, 10 small businesswoman and that I was locked out of competition 11 and isolated from my main line to my audience. The fewer 12 the radio station owners, the fewer and the -- the less the 13 concern about content. The more monotony on every play 14 list, the more I will be locked out and thousands, 15 thousands, thousands of people like me will be in that 16 situation. 17 And these are people that bring 500 to 2, 000 18 people to your main street on any given night. They fill 19 your restaurants, they use FedEx, they use hotels. These 20 are legitimate people who contribute to the economy. But 21 most importantly, they bring their music and they're going 22 to be silenced. 23 Commissioner, the new media rules incorporating 24 clear standards for local programming are important, but 25 40 Broadcast Localism Hearing 41 local initiative that refuses to recognize the role that 1 concentrated media plays in stifling local voices simply 2 elevates window- dressing over true substance. 3 And in North Carolina if you want to talk about 4 local musicians, you're talking about John Coltrane, you're 5 talking about Roberta Flack, Doc Watson, Max Roach, Earl 6 Scruggs, people who not only made this state unique, but 7 have shaped the heritage of our country and are reknown 8 around the world. 9 If you give young musicians no possibility of 10 making a living, if you give the radio waves to people with 11 no regard for music or localism or content, if you stifle 12 the musical outlets with an unfettered interest in the 13 bottom line, you will scatter not only the next generation 14 of North Carolina talent, but 49 other states worth because 15 they will have to find something more feasible than an 16 instrument to voice their sorrow and their joy. 17 Thank you for your time. 18 (Applause.) 19 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you, Ms. Merritt, for that 20 passionate recitation. 21 MS. MERRITT: I was hoping to be charming, but I 22 didn't know I'd only have three minutes. I was told five. 23 CHAIRMAN POWELL: It was a righteous five, though. 24 Our fourth panelist is Ms. Joan Siefert Rose, General 25 41 Broadcast Localism Hearing 42 Manager of WUNC- FM. We're very happy to have you here, and 1 please proceed. 2 MS. ROSE: I'm glad to be here, and I'm also very 3 pleased to tell you that Tift Merritt can be heard on WUNC, 4 as well as on many other public stations across the state. 5 It is an honor for those of us down on the left- hand side of 6 the FM band to address the Commission's Task Force on 7 Localism on behalf of noncommercial broadcasters in the 8 state. 9 The topic of the hearing today which is local 10 public service really touches upon my core responsibility as 11 a public broadcaster. I'm sure that most of you here have 12 tuned in to public radio at some point. North Carolina has 13 15 different public radio licensees offering news, public 14 affairs, classical music, jazz, bluegrass, hip- hop, reggae, 15 community service announcements, and reading services to the 16 blind. 17 And we have a combined weekly audience of 1. 3 18 million listeners across the state, so it's a significant 19 audience that is reached in North Carolina. 20 One of the licensees is WUNC public radio. We're 21 a news and public affairs service, with bluegrass music on 22 the weekends, licensed to the University of North Carolina 23 at Chapel Hill. We serve 300,000 weekly listeners in 36 24 counties in North Carolina. 25 42 Broadcast Localism Hearing 43 We don't receive any direct funds from either the 1 university or the State of North Carolina. And in a typical 2 year we receive less than ten percent of our operating 3 dollars from the Federal Corporation for Public 4 Broadcasting. We must rely on the generous support of the 5 local community of listeners to keep us on the air. 6 Therefore, we really do depend on the extent of 7 the service we provide responsive to the needs and interests 8 of our local listeners that we serve. 9 As a public broadcaster, WUNC is an editorial 10 voice that speaks with a North Carolina accent. That is, we 11 live and we breathe the stories we report. Local 12 programming is personally very important to me. 13 I was moved by Congressman Price's discussion of 14 his brief career at a 1, 000 watt station, because when I 15 became a broadcast journalist 25 years ago, the industry 16 required each radio station to provide a minimum amount of 17 local news and public affairs. I learned my craft at small 18 stations just like that and practiced it in increasingly 19 larger markets of commercial stations. 20 Although commercial stations no longer face 21 specific local programming requirements, local news and 22 public affairs programming remain the very foundation of 23 public broadcasting. 24 While commercial broadcasters still do perform 25 43 Broadcast Localism Hearing 44 many valuable services, and is ably documented by the panel 1 here this evening, we are unique in our ability as a non- 2 commercial station to dedicate enormous amounts of our time 3 and resources to creating purely local programming. 4 The FCC can help support the strong local 5 programming on non- commercial stations like WUNC. You can 6 help by protecting the technical integrity of our broadcast 7 signals by enforcing non- interference technical standards in 8 a fair, reasonable and timely manner. 9 I'd like to point out that WUNC recently incurred 10 an expensive and lengthy technical challenge at the FCC 11 against an interfering translator station. I also want to 12 point out that most public stations do not have the 13 financial or legal resources to do so. 14 We very much encourage diverse voices and 15 viewpoints and welcome new broadcasters to the spectrum, but 16 we also want to point out that it should not be done -- the 17 signal should not be at the expense of existing public 18 stations that provide excellent service to listeners. 19 I also wish in closing to pay tribute to UNC 20 television, public television stations serving more than two 21 million viewers every week across the state, and also to the 22 public TV station and the public radio station here in 23 Charlotte. Their stewardship to the community sets a 24 standard that is the envy of public television and radio 25 44 Broadcast Localism Hearing 45 broadcasters across the country. 1 My fuller statement is being submitted for the 2 record along with a voluminous set of letters from listeners 3 and viewers to the local public -- to their local radio and 4 television stations talking about the service that has been 5 provided, and I thank you very much for this opportunity. 6 (Applause.) 7 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you for your presentation 8 and we'll now allow questions of the panelists. And if you 9 haven't filled out your card, please do so and send them 10 forward. I invite my colleagues to ask any questions they 11 might have. 12 I'd like to start with a question at least for the 13 two commercial broadcasters and I think even public 14 broadcasting would have something to say about it. 15 On the way down in the plane I was reading a 16 number of E- mails that we've already begun to receive at our 17 localism site about this area, and I want to read one 18 criticism and ask a question about it. 19 This local resident writes: “I'd like to state my 20 support for any initiative which allows more local 21 controlled media outlet. The trend has been away from 22 anything local in the way of radio broadcast. Every day we 23 hear about radio stations being bought up by conglomerates, 24 in many cases, American corporations. 25 45 Broadcast Localism Hearing 46 Who's to say that they're -- what their agendas 1 really are? They certainly don't have local community 2 interest at heart, and the end result is driving out local 3 culture. The corporation's, by necessities, desire is to 4 increase its bottom line, and that's inherently incompatible 5 with local interests.” 6 A lot of times that is the sentiment that 7 underlies the tension between commercial or corporate 8 broadcasting and the public interest, that they are in some 9 sense incompatible, that somehow serving the bottom line or 10 being profitable is not consistent with that. 11 And I'd ask all of you to comment on that or offer 12 some dimension to that if you'd like. I'd even be willing 13 to bet that there are broadcasters on the other side who 14 wish to speak to it to answer. 15 MR. KEELOR: Well, I'll attempt to answer that. I 16 think first of all one of the distressful things we see in 17 television in a lot of the small markets is given the cost 18 of competition and operation and particularly with the 19 digital conversion, a lot of small market owners are in 20 financial trouble. 21 That is, they make a profit, but they do not have 22 the kind of resources to invest in the kind of services they 23 might like to have. Those are individual cases. I will 24 speak only to my own company. 25 46 Broadcast Localism Hearing 47 I am proud to say that if you went into any of our 1 markets, I don't think anyone in the market would know who 2 Liberty Corporation is, and we designed it that way. We try 3 very hard not to be a corporate entity. We are local 4 television stations. Our local managers head the United 5 Way, we do Red Cross blood drives, we do all those things 6 that identifies us in the community. 7 So in Liberty Corporation's -- at least in our 8 situation, I don't think that really applies because in our 9 markets other than the little disclaimer we put up at the 10 end of the newscasts that, you know, owned by Liberty 11 Corporation, which is required by law as identification, no 12 one knows who we are, and we like it that way. 13 We want them to know who the local management, the 14 local talent, the local programming and the local station 15 are. 16 MS. KWEI: Just to kind of follow up on that, I 17 would agree and I think most of the FM broadcast radio 18 stations in the market pretty much do the same thing, and 19 that is we all stamp, if you will, our local stations versus 20 our company headquarters. When we're on the air we speak of 21 our individual stations, not the corporate owners. 22 Just to kind of follow up on what you said, I 23 totally -- I agree with you somewhat and I agree with that 24 person somewhat because I think that there is always, always 25 47 Broadcast Localism Hearing 48 a striving on our part to do better. I don't think any 1 broadcaster in this room or elsewhere can honestly sit and 2 say that they're doing everything right. 3 On a day- to- day basis we sit and we meet locally, 4 I think our COO and our director of sales nationally meet 5 daily, weekly, trying to figure out ways and find ways in 6 which we can do a better job. 7 Revenue is a big part of what we do. We are 8 commercial radio stations, but at the same time we have a 9 responsibility. In our case we have a responsibility to the 10 community at large, we have a responsibility to the African- 11 American community to uphold certain standards, to follow 12 policies and guidelines set by the FCC, which we all do, and 13 again, we try our best to do it better on a day- to- day 14 basis. 15 So I hear that person loud and clear, and I think 16 it would be very easy for us to sit here and say that that's 17 not true, where what I think we're trying to say is to a 18 certain degree it is true, but we have to do a better job 19 daily in trying to overcome that. 20 MS. ROSE: Even as a public broadcaster certainly 21 we can do more to reflect our local community. However, I 22 think we are naturally aligned in the fact that our 23 contributions and our operating dollars largely come from 24 individual listeners. So to the extent that our programming 25 48 Broadcast Localism Hearing 49 is responsive to their needs, they will contribute. And if 1 they don't contribute, then we know we are not meeting their 2 needs. 3 We get a report card very quickly on that, so I 4 would say I would agree with the other speakers that we 5 could do more certainly and we intend to as our resources 6 grow and as we meet the needs of listeners we anticipate the 7 contributions will increase. 8 COMMISSIONER COPPS: Let me just ask one question 9 while we wait for the cards, and I'll ask it of Jim Keelor. 10 The right of a local station or an affiliated station to 11 reject a program strikes a lot of people, including me, as 12 integral to preserving localism and this raises its head 13 particularly in the matter of indecent programming that 14 might be contrary to the values of a community. 15 How important is the right to reject and is it a 16 problem for you or for other independent stations that you 17 know of to reject a network feed that you deem unacceptable 18 to the values of the local community? 19 MR. KEELOR: Well, Commissioner Copps, I think 20 you're correct in that the right to reject rule for 50 years 21 the Commission has recognized that as a core of localism and 22 we'd like to see that continued. 23 The dynamics of the network affiliate relationship 24 changed so much that it is more difficult to preempt network 25 49 Broadcast Localism Hearing 50 programming. But I think you also have to realize that the 1 right to reject rule insists that the licensee is really the 2 sole determiner of the quality and content of a program for 3 the local market. 4 And there are also times when a local program, be 5 it a high school championship, a student debate, a town hall 6 meeting, might take precedent over a network program. And 7 that -- I'm not talking about a news event now, I'm talking 8 about a community event. And I think a station should have 9 the right to reject to do that. 10 In the dynamics that exist today, it is difficult 11 to make that happen and getting more difficult. And I think 12 that's why the affiliated stations group filed a petition to 13 the Commission more than two years ago asking them to simply 14 reaffirm, not create new law, but reaffirmed what has been a 15 fifty year tradition of the right to reject. 16 And the petition is still there and has not been 17 acted on, and I think that if you really want to see 18 something that can drive localism and ensure it for the 19 future, we would like to see the Commission clarify and 20 reaffirm its fifty year support of the right to reject rule. 21 COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Ms. Merritt, you said 22 something that caught my attention. You said essentially 23 that you have to pay for play on radio, that the label or 24 you are forced to pay. That's commonly known as payola. 25 50 Broadcast Localism Hearing 51 I'm wondering if you understand that's a violation 1 of the law, that -- 2 MS. MERRITT: Do you mean do I understand? 3 COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Well, you -- 4 MS. MERRITT: I have not violated the law. I 5 understand it. 6 COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: Let me explain to you the 7 situation, that the law requires that if a station requires 8 payment for play of something on the radio, that that be 9 disclosed. Now, that's pretty much acceptable for that to 10 happen, but the station has to say brought to you by EMI 11 Records is such and such an artist. 12 Now, you mentioned this was a line item on your 13 statement as if they were charging you directly, and I'm 14 just wondering if you're suggesting that payola is keeping 15 local artists like yourself off of the radio. 16 MS. MERRITT: Well, there's a system in place and 17 it's absolutely naive to think that pay for play doesn't go 18 on. There are elaborate ways of independent promotion, that 19 this completely happens. I'd like to cite an Observer 20 article from Saturday, October 18th, about country radio. 21 And it says: “but Logan, the first subject in 22 this, acknowledged that many veteran acts, veteran musical 23 acts, now record for small independent labels that don't 24 have a lot of promotional muscle.” 25 51 Broadcast Localism Hearing 52 I'll ask you, what do you think promotional muscle 1 is? I think it's money; right? I mean, maybe you should 2 call these guys and ask them too, but there is certainly a 3 system in place. You know, I've heard of people getting a 4 bill from a radio station when they were played. 5 COMMISSIONER ADELSTEIN: That's something that 6 deserves further investigation. Certainly I'll follow up 7 this question to you, Joan Siefert Rose. 8 You said that Tift Merritt could be heard on WUNC. 9 Do you think that has anything to do with the fact that 10 you're a non- commercial station so obviously payola doesn't 11 enter the picture? I mean, does that possibly have to do 12 with any evidence of this kind of activity in the radio 13 business? 14 MS. ROSE: You know, I really can't speak on 15 behalf of commercial broadcasters here. I only know that 16 our policies are to give exposure to local artists. This is 17 part of our mandate as a non- commercial station. 18 And one of the programs that we have on the 19 weekend really focuses on traditional music and bluegrass 20 music and country music for the area. So Tift is a very 21 logical artist for us to play, very popular with our 22 listeners. So in our case we really are motivated to 23 provide talent and recordings that we think would be 24 something that our listeners would like to hear, and that's 25 52 Broadcast Localism Hearing 53 about as simple as it gets. 1 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I'd like to read a couple 2 questions here. I'd like to read two of them and then maybe 3 we'll go into the open mike session and continue the 4 discussion. 5 The first is for Mr. Keelor. It's in reference to 6 free time for candidates during debates and candidate 7 interviews. 8 “Isn't it a legal requirement for licensing in 9 exchange for use of the public airwaves? What measures do 10 you take to ensure fair and equal airtime for all 11 candidates, and does that include third- party candidates?” 12 MR. KEELOR: It does, sir. All of the Liberty 13 stations during the last mayoral elections offered 14 candidates free time in various formats other than 15 newscasts. A five, three- minute, two- minute segment where 16 they could come in and tape any statement they wanted to 17 make and it would be carried in various day parts; some in 18 prime, some late night, some early and so forth. So we made 19 that effort. 20 We've also opened up, and we were disappointed by 21 the candidates’ response to our offer of a free internet 22 platform. We asked them to put their campaign positions, 23 their bios and so forth on our websites. And because our 24 stations are, for the most part, I think 13 of 15 are number 25 53 Broadcast Localism Hearing 54 one stations, we drive a lot of viewers to our websites. And 1 we were disappointed that only one or two took advantage of 2 that. 3 I think my point here is we have multiple 4 platforms now to make candidates available. If we can get 5 digital up and running and can multicast, I see a huge 6 opportunity for us to provide more airtime to candidates 7 using the digital spectrum, and I think that's in our 8 company's game plan. 9 So free time is something we do routinely. We 10 certainly provide a lot of coverage during our newscasts. 11 We have done live debates which have been picked up by 12 national networks and we have offered our website. So we're 13 trying to give them multiple platforms. We do not always 14 get the cooperation of the candidates that we would like to 15 get. 16 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you. A second question 17 which I think is interesting: :” Will calls for more public 18 service from broadcast stations be used as an excuse to 19 punish smaller stations not affiliated with large 20 corporations? 21 For example, a small and independent station has a 22 much harder time maintaining profits than a corporate 23 affiliated station that can afford to run at a loss by 24 borrowing profits from other partner stations. For that 25 54 Broadcast Localism Hearing 55 reason corporate stations must be held to a higher 1 standard.” 2 What I think is interesting in the question is the 3 suggestion that if there were government mandates for public 4 interest obligations, should they be in some ways graduated, 5 given the nature of the station; that a smaller station 6 under perhaps greater financial difficulty would have fewer 7 public interest obligations. 8 MR. KEELOR: What I was alluding to before in the 9 smaller markets is that to provide good service, you must 10 have the resources to do so. And the fifth station, the WB 11 station in Sioux City, Iowa may not have those resources. 12 I think public interest standards in some degree 13 are acceptable. I don't object to them philosophically. 14 What I have always objected to them is the basis that they 15 are terrible administrative burdens, and that we spend so 16 much time administering what the government wants done that 17 we could be devoting to serving the public. That's been my 18 concern with going back to the Fairness Doctrine and various 19 other things. 20 But to answer specifically, I think they need to 21 be applied uniformly if you're going to have them. I 22 question to what degree you need them. The Commission 23 obviously in the past several years has believed we do not. 24 CHAIRMAN POWELL: The next question, -- and we'll 25 55 Broadcast Localism Hearing 56 take a few minutes to get through more of these before we go 1 to open mic since they are also from the audience. 2 The question here, to discuss the personal attack 3 regulations: “If a radio station broadcasts a personal 4 attack on a non- public figure, is the station required to 5 provide a copy of the attack to the individual? What are 6 the penalties for not following the personal attack 7 regulation?” 8 I believe I can answer this question. The 9 Commission had personal attack rules which were ultimately 10 struck down in court and don't currently exist in the 11 Commission rules as a consequence of a case called RTNDA 12 (phonetic), if I recall correctly, so regrettably we don't 13 have rules that we're capable of enforcing in that area at 14 the moment. 15 In order to criticize the Chair, I should ask this 16 question. “Why are the questions from the audience being 17 filtered by the staff members before they get to the 18 Commissioners?” 19 (Laughter.) 20 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I don't know. I hope they're 21 not. We'll do the best we can to get to all the questions 22 fairly, and you'll be provided with open mic time and nobody 23 will be filtering through the microphone. So if we are, I 24 apologize for that. 25 56 Broadcast Localism Hearing 57 A question for our broadcast owners: “What 1 efforts do you take to try to inform your employees about a 2 station's -- from the station's perspective about guidelines 3 for airing local artists? Do you have some outlines or 4 training for employees to help with this?” 5 MS. KWEI: Yes, we do. And I have to tell you, 6 over the last several months or the last, really, last year 7 it's gotten a lot better where we have a -- we have some 8 standards set in place where weekly our program directors 9 and our music directors are instructed by myself, the 10 general manager, and it comes from the headquarters, that we 11 have to allow access for local artists and independent 12 labels to pitch their product, quite frankly. We do that on 13 a weekly basis. 14 Often times it may be a face- to- face meeting or it 15 may be a phone conversation, but we have put those measures 16 in place over the last several months in an effort, once 17 again, to do better. 18 We have a program, as I mentioned in my opening 19 statement, on Sunday evenings called Heat From the Street, 20 and it is hosted by some young local people, and the primary 21 goal of that program a lot like the bluegrass program, is to 22 provide a platform for local artists to be heard. 23 We listen for what the public wants, and often 24 times -- and I did mention this one artist named Sherica, -- 25 57 Broadcast Localism Hearing 58 we will hear a lot of rave reviews from some particular 1 artist that will end up getting play on our radio station. 2 Or in our cases we have invited a lot of our local artists 3 who have risen to that point to perform at some of our 4 events. 5 So those are some of the efforts that we have 6 instituted to make sure that we're doing the best that we 7 can, and again on a day- to- day basis trying to get better. 8 CHAIRMAN POWELL: “What ideas do any of you have 9 as broadcasters to make local coverage of local political 10 campaigns a lot more interesting? 11 From my perspective, simply airing debates isn't 12 enough, and ads often turn voters off. Can anyone be more 13 creative?” Good luck with that one. 14 (Laughter.) 15 MR. KEELOR: Sometimes we're the victims of the 16 subject matter we have to cover. 17 (Applause.) 18 Ironically, because we are not a newspaper and you 19 cannot print another page, we have a finite amount of 20 airtime and a finite amount of commercial time. And it is 21 true in our stations' cases that we are not able to devote 22 as much time to maybe to the agricultural secretary race or 23 something like that, that we do the county commission, city 24 council and so forth. I think we have to prioritize and I 25 58 Broadcast Localism Hearing 59 think the public understands that. 1 But the invitation that we made for free time went 2 out to all candidates and the internet offer went out to all 3 candidates. So that's when we were really disappointed that 4 we really didn't get access to that because I think it's our 5 obligation to provide access and to provide the platform, 6 but I don't see any way we can make the candidates come or 7 make the people see it. 8 MS. ROSE: In our case we do have some long form 9 interview programs also where candidates have a chance to 10 talk at length about their platforms and interests. We tend 11 to focus on larger races, senate races, statewide races or 12 congressional races as opposed to township races. But that 13 opportunity is there, particularly when a race is heated. 14 CHAIRMAN POWELL: To Ms. Merritt, there's a 15 question for you. “What other means can be used to keep the 16 airwaves free other than having to rely on commercial 17 advertising?” 18 MS. MERRITT: Well, commercial advertising, do you 19 mean air play? 20 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I don't know. 21 MS. MERRITT: It's kind of the same thing, isn't 22 it? 23 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Well, if I can elaborate. 24 MS. MERRITT: Please do. 25 59 Broadcast Localism Hearing 60 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I'm reading the mind of someone, 1 but I think the suggestion is one thing that we keep in mind 2 is that in our system of broadcasting, the government 3 doesn't fund or subsidize the media at all. 4 In a lot of countries, like Commissioner Adelstein 5 mentioned, in England, the government deals with a lot of 6 the concerns we're raising by having a government- sponsored 7 medium, the BBC. Citizens are taxed roughly $150 per year, 8 regardless if they're watching in order to subsidize the 9 cost of that programming. 10 And we certainly have public broadcasting in the 11 United States, so the commercial motives of advertising are 12 absolutely essential to the survival of stations in our 13 system. So I guess maybe someone's reacting to your point 14 about advertising and being all they care about. 15 MR. KEELOR: Mr. Chairman, -- 16 MS. MERRITT: Well, it's my turn. 17 MR. KEELOR: Go ahead. 18 MS. MERRITT: I, you know, I really am just taking 19 what the Clear Channel president said, so I'm not changing 20 his words and, you know, I think that my impression was I'm 21 very confused about what the question was. 22 Are there other means for me besides the radio? 23 Yes, there certainly are. And if you'll read my bio, I 24 think you'll see that I have used them very well. I tour 25 60 Broadcast Localism Hearing 61 all around the country and in Europe, and I get a lot of 1 exposure in magazines. 2 Unfortunately it's very difficult to even break 3 even as a musician, and there is no contesting that the 4 radio is the main source that people turn to when they want 5 to hear a song. And so as a musician and my colleagues who 6 are musicians and artists, to have access to that medium 7 defiltered for the majority in this country through two or 8 three large companies really means that our chances are 9 very, very slim. 10 And, you know, I agree with you, Commissioner, 11 that I'm very proud that the government does not get 12 involved with radio in this country, that the media is run 13 on its own, that it's not a government media. 14 But by the same hand, these companies are really 15 being allowed to go -- they are given -- right now they have 16 protection because they can become as large as they want and 17 they can be concerned with their bottom line, when really 18 what the FCC in my opinion, humble opinion, is about is 19 protecting the airwaves and the people and not these larger 20 companies and their interest in profit. And, you know, I 21 think it's great that they're doing well, but their job is 22 content. 23 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I'm going to ask two more 24 questions and then we're going to start with the open mic 25 61 Broadcast Localism Hearing 62 session. 1 Without public service, specific public service 2 performance standards, how do you as broadcasters know how 3 to meet and exceed community expectations? 4 MS. KWEI: Well, in our situation there may not be 5 particular guidelines, but quite frankly our company sets 6 their own guidelines and what our expectations are on a 7 local level. Radio One expects us to provide a certain 8 amount of public service airtime for local organizations, 9 organizations, events, fundraising and things of that 10 nature. 11 We also, as part of our marketing and promotions 12 department, and I would say this is probably station by 13 station, we reach out to local organizations monthly and 14 annually trying to find opportunities in which we can help 15 them get the word out about their particular event, in some 16 cases partner up with them and make their event even larger 17 than what it might have not been had it not been for Radio 18 One's involvement. 19 So again, just in our isolated situation we're 20 told, quite frankly, what the expectation is. And it's up 21 to me as the general manager to make sure on a day- to- day 22 basis that we're delivering that expectation. 23 CHAIRMAN POWELL: And finally we're asked this 24 question, because I want to take a chance and answer it. 25 62 Broadcast Localism Hearing 63 “Local ownership has lost control and diversity. We need 1 efforts there to ensure minority ownership and more 2 programming diversity. What could we do?” 3 I wanted to use that question to take an 4 opportunity to talk about the FCC recently launched a 5 diversity task force, or what we call a federal advisory 6 committee, that is focused intensely on the question of 7 minority and female roles in the media and the 8 communications industry at large. 9 It's composed by leading citizens throughout the 10 country who are dedicated to a successful commitment to 11 diversity. They had their first meeting and are actively 12 working on policies and recommendations to the Commission 13 and the government that we can follow consistent with the 14 legal restraints to promote diversity. 15 And I know that Congressman Watt mentioned the 16 importance of that, and I want to invite his participation 17 in that and let you all know that and answer that question. 18 So with that, Madam Secretary, why don't you 19 announce for us the procedures for the open mic and we'll 20 proceed to that section? 21 SECRETARY DORTCH: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 22 Members of the audience who wish to speak should line up at 23 the nearest lectern. We will alternate lecterns during the 24 session. If you are in the overflow rooms and wish to 25 63 Broadcast Localism Hearing 64 speak, please come to the meeting chamber and we will 1 accommodate as many as the fire marshall permits. A staff 2 member at each lectern will let you know when it is your 3 turn to speak. 4 In the interest of letting as many people present 5 their views as possible, speakers should limit their remarks 6 to no more than two minutes. The green light will signal 7 for the first one and a half minutes. When the yellow light 8 signals, you will have thirty seconds to sum up your 9 remarks. 10 Please try to observe these minutes. We also ask 11 that you turn off your cell phones. Thank you. 12 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Yes, sir. 13 MR. RASH: Mr. Chairman, my name is Dennis Rash. 14 I am chairman of the North Carolina Bicycle Committee, and 15 if I may add a word of welcome to Charlotte and North 16 Carolina. 17 The North Carolina Bicycle Committee was created 18 by the North Carolina General Assembly to assist local 19 governments in developing policies and standards for 20 planning and maintaining and operating bikeways safely 21 across North Carolina. We're advisory to the Secretary of 22 the Department of Transportation and to the Board of 23 Transportation in furtherance of this policy. 24 North Carolina has the second largest state 25 64 Broadcast Localism Hearing 65 maintained road system in the United States. We are 1 specifically charged with representing the interests of 2 bicyclists on all matters concerning bicycles and a safer 3 environment for bicycling in North Carolina. And it is that 4 safer environment that I wish to speak to. 5 Here is a case study of localism gone amuck. On 6 September 22 and 23, Clear Channel Communications Raleigh 7 affiliate, G- 105, during morning drive time, aired an 8 extended discussion about how much fun it was for the 9 motoring public to run cyclists off the highways. 10 From the E- mails and the listener comments I've 11 received, I understand the G- 105 announcers provoked and 12 baited their call- in public to explore ways motorists could 13 arrest cyclists. Several ways suggested was shooting pellet 14 guns, and throwing empty bottles at passing vehicles. 15 One of the announcers opined that he would enjoy driving his 16 bicycle on a pathway. 17 North Carolina law specifically classifies 18 bicycles as vehicles and regulates their lawful use. So the 19 announcer was dead wrong on that. As a matter of common 20 courtesy and safety, he was beyond wrong. He was 21 provocative and callous. 22 And I got an E- mail from a Chapel Hill cyclist 23 about how a pickup several days after that had intentionally 24 crossed the center line and run him off. 25 65 Broadcast Localism Hearing 66 Here is an example of where the FCC, if it chooses 1 to expand consolidation, must seek additional regulation for 2 the safety of the public. 3 I have an extended statement that I will give the 4 Secretary, but we hope very much that you will take this 5 into consideration in your rulemaking. 6 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you. Just for the record, 7 we did receive complaints about that at the very end of 8 September and our enforcement bureau will be looking into 9 that matter, so thank you for bringing it to our attention. 10 MS. O'DANIEL: My name is MaryLee O'Daniel. I'm 11 here to voice my frustration as a member of a minority that 12 is largely disserved by the television industry. That 13 minority is the blind. I know that we have had the 14 wonderful service of closed- captioning for many years and 15 it's wonderful. 16 There has also been available audio description, 17 but I only know of two places where I can access programming 18 with audio description. One of those is on public 19 television, the television system that can least afford to 20 do so, and the other one is one movie a week on a cable 21 movie station. 22 I'm well aware that there has been a lobby in 23 recent times to require television networks to provide 24 approximately four hours a week of audio described 25 66 Broadcast Localism Hearing 67 programming for the blind, but we need to have some common 1 sense about that. 2 It would be lots of fun to have my favorite 3 programs, The District and Whoopi audioscribed, but it would 4 take away a lot of the fun of listening to Whoopi if I hear 5 that beep, beep, beep and knew that the severe weather 6 warnings were being scrolled across the screen and I would 7 have no idea what they were. 8 I appreciate talking with you, and I also would 9 like to say that a lot of our stations have done a good job 10 of giving public service announcements and repeating the 11 telephone numbers, but when they tell me on the radio or the 12 television to call 1- 800- POWER- ONE when my power is out, 13 which number is the letter P? Is it six or seven? And 14 which number is the letter W? Is it nine or zero? 15 We do need audio description for the important 16 public service announcements and the severe weather 17 warnings. Thank you very much. 18 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you. I would add too 19 that's something we would urge Congress to help us with. 20 The Commission did once have audio description, but was also 21 struck down in the court. So we're looking to Congress to 22 hopefully put that back. 23 Yes, sir. 24 MR. JOHNSON: Mr. Chairman, I also would like to 25 67 Broadcast Localism Hearing 68 welcome you to Charlotte. I appreciate personally the 1 efforts that the Commission has made to come here to listen 2 to the public about certain statements. 3 My name is Harry Johnson. I am also a bicyclist 4 and I'm going to be a little more succinct than Mr. Rash. I 5 agree with him completely. 6 I'm incredulous, absolutely incredulous, that 7 these two clowns on the morning drive time are still 8 employed by the station. It's unbelievable to me. 9 Promoting bodily harm to the general public live, on the 10 air, is beyond reason. 11 Contrary to what Clear Channel's website said, and 12 you can go on it very clearly and it says what kind of 13 community support they're involving themselves with, it is a 14 concern that Clear Channel appears to be promoting a pattern 15 of community abuse for the sake of rating points. 16 Bigger is not better. Bigger insulates 17 management, station management. Bigger insulates profits. 18 Bigger insulates ownerships from responsiveness and 19 responsibilities to the community to which it purportedly 20 serves. Thank you. 21 MR. NEWMAN: Hello. My name is Gray Newman and I 22 was elected this past November to that most local of 23 offices, to the Mecklenburg Soil and Water Conservation 24 Board. We're all the way at the bottom of the ballot, so 25 68 Broadcast Localism Hearing 69 just keep on going. 1 I want to address my comments to Mr. Keelor. I 2 think it's wonderful that you all do offer free advertising 3 or free announcements, free airtime for candidates and local 4 candidates. If that was available here in Charlotte, nobody 5 bothered telling us about it. 6 My entire budget for my campaign was $700, and I 7 was the big spender. I got over 36, 000 votes. That's less 8 than two cents a vote. And if something like free web space 9 or free airtime had been available, I think that would have 10 been wonderful. 11 And I would urge the radio stations and the TV 12 stations in our market to talk to Mr. Keelor and get some of 13 his ideas on this. Thank you. 14 MR. SMITH: Mr. Chairman, I'm here on behalf of 15 two fantastic radio stations in the State of South Carolina. 16 My name is William E. Smith. I am the executive director 17 of the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. Our job is to raise 18 money for our Shriner's hospitals for children. 19 These two gentlemen and these two radio stations 20 and their personnel have been absolutely magnificent, and 21 this is why I'm here because they do something for the 22 community. Not just for Rock Hill and Fort Mill, South 23 Carolina, but for the two Carolinas. 24 Through their efforts they have worked and 25 69 Broadcast Localism Hearing 70 generated a radio network for the Shrine Bowl of the 1 Carolinas which raises money for the burn and crippled 2 children's hospital to exceed 60 stations in the two 3 Carolinas; four and a half hours of broadcast time. So I 4 have nothing but wonderful praise for these men and their 5 efforts. Thank you, sir. 6 MR. McCONNELL: Good evening. My name is David 7 McConnell. I drove down here from Asheville, North 8 Carolina. I'm an independent media developer, but I've been 9 working for the past couple of years with the Asheville Area 10 Chamber of Commerce and regional economic developers in 11 western North Carolina. 12 We've been losing manufacturing jobs at a break 13 neck speed. We've done a lot of research to determine that 14 the media can be a pretty major economic driver for our 15 area. Unfortunately what we've discovered is that's there's 16 an extreme lack of media infrastructure. We don't have 17 public access stations. We're finally getting some low 18 power FM licenses. 19 We've been doing lots of interviews with our best 20 and brightest graduates from the area. They're all leaving 21 for larger markets. A lot of this is due to the fact that 22 the majority of our stations, both television and radio, 23 have been brought up by Sinclair, by Clear Channel, by 24 others. 25 70 Broadcast Localism Hearing 71 They're becoming increasingly automated; they're 1 doing less and less local coverage, and it's a serious 2 concern in our area because we don't have a lot of resources 3 and we're trying to find something to really help the 4 region. 5 So, what do we do? We've talked to people 6 endlessly in lots and lots of sessions, and we've come to a 7 few conclusions, like, how do we increase localism? We have 8 to increase community involvement in the media. We've got 9 to increase real community news coverage, not just the 10 leading and bleeding stuff. We've got to increase resources 11 for aspiring media developers. We have to provide real- 12 world experience for these people. 13 How do we foster local commercial development, 14 which I think is one of the functions of the FCC. We have 15 to create a local media infrastructure and ensure local 16 representation, ensure local control, and guarantee 17 opportunities for local ownership for media entrepreneurs. 18 So specifically what I would like to see the FCC 19 do, there have been a few steps lately that have been really 20 good, I would like to see further expansion of the low- power 21 FM programs so that we could get more than just a hundred 22 watts. We're starting one up now; maybe we get five miles. 23 We're trying to go regional; we're in a small rural 24 community. 25 71 Broadcast Localism Hearing 72 We really need to see more licenses, we need to 1 see more power. We need to increase the number of LPFM 2 licenses. We need to increase cable franchise requirements 3 so that we can start to really implement some pretty serious 4 community media infrastructures both on- line and television 5 who need to reinforce localism. And we need to not weaken 6 the current ownership rules. Thanks. 7 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you. 8 MS. COLE: Good evening. My name is Marja Cole. 9 I'm the executive director of the American Red Cross in 10 North and South Carolina. In Winston- Salem, the coverage we 11 get from our local broadcasting stations is, as my daughter 12 would say, awesome. 13 We have two TV stations, we have WTV, WTWV- 20 and 14 WXII, Channel 12. We have six radio stations that we work 15 with, WSJS, Kiss- 94, WBFJ, Joy- FM, the Light, 1340, and 16 WTQR. All these radio and TV stations represent all 17 different audiences, all kinds of music, all kinds of 18 formats and so forth; they all help us do so many amazing 19 things in our community. 20 They respond to eleven special event blood drives 21 and one CPR day that we do every year that enables people to 22 come and learn CPR and first aid at no cost. They also, of 23 course, provide coverage for all the disasters, both 24 nationally and locally that we cover. 25 72 Broadcast Localism Hearing 73 And soon WXII is going to sponsor a telethon for 1 us to help us raise money for nine chapters in the State of 2 North Carolina, not just ours. And during Hurricane Floyd 3 Channel 12, WXII, helped us raise almost two million dollars 4 for relief for this effort. 5 They also sponsor our Twelve Days of Christmas 6 program and many others drives. Together these broadcasters 7 have collected last year alone 2,079 units of blood which 8 ended up helping more than 6200 people in our community. 9 We've had a partnership with our broadcasting 10 group in Winston- Salem for more than thirty years. Without 11 them we could not do our business. I feel like I'm 12 representing all the other organizations in Winston- Salem 13 because they do this for everybody, and across the state all 14 the broadcasters help the Red Crosses do their work. 15 Without them there would not be the work that we do, and I 16 thank them all. 17 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Yes, sir. 18 MR. BROWN: I'm Sam Brown from Charlotte. I 19 represent the Common Cause of North Carolina. We've got 20 about 2500 members living in North Carolina. 21 Common Cause believes that the dissemination of 22 information, free and fair, is a necessity for democracy to 23 work. So owning media is not just a business, it's a public 24 responsibility, indeed it is a trust. Profit must not be 25 73 Broadcast Localism Hearing 74 the dictating force for policy in the media. 1 One of the serious mistakes the Federal Government 2 made was during the last couple years giving away TV 3 frequencies that were done under the radar because the media 4 did not inform the public the way it should have. That's an 5 example of what the media can do against the public good. 6 Just as strict government control turns out 7 propaganda and silences dissenting voices, monopoly 8 ownership would have its ill effects in the media. 9 The increased size that was recently granted by 10 the FCC moves the media toward monopolistic ownership and 11 fewer and fewer CEOs making decisions about who gets heard 12 on local stations and who gets silenced, and what issues are 13 ignored or covered. 14 Common Cause is in favor of democracy. We're in 15 favor of things being done that promote the people's 16 interest, and with regard to the FCC as an agency of the 17 people, not a manager for big business to take over greater 18 and greater segments of the media market. We just wanted to 19 express that concern. 20 Incidentally, it has occurred to me that this has 21 the appearance of a PR effort to recover self- respect for 22 the FCC after having ignored the public outcry against the 23 increasing percentage of the media market that can be owned 24 by fewer and fewer owners. Thank you very much. 25 74 Broadcast Localism Hearing 75 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I'll only say we'll work to 1 prove you otherwise. 2 MS. WALKER: Good evening. I'm Kathy Walker and I 3 have an advertising agency in Greensboro, North Carolina. 4 And I have a great pleasure to say that a lot of my issues 5 have already been covered, but I want to get really get out 6 there and say maybe we should consider a ban on paid 7 political advertising and talk about free, but limited and 8 equal airtime for political candidates and their campaigns. 9 (Applause.) 10 That is desperately needed to serve the American 11 people's interest, and I'd like to quote Walter Cronkite 12 while I'm here. 13 There is no more important challenge facing our 14 democracy than to free our political system from the choke 15 hold of money and special interest. Candidates should not 16 have to put themselves on the auction block to raise the 17 resources needed to communicate in the modern era. Our 18 politics should be driven by ideas, and not money. 19 Broadcasters have become the leading cause of the 20 high cost of modern politics. Broadcasters have been given 21 billions of dollars worth of exclusive licenses, free of 22 charge, to use our scarce public airwaves, but only on the 23 condition that they serve the public interest. The best way 24 for this great medium to discharge its responsibility under 25 75 Broadcast Localism Hearing 76 the law is by providing free airtime before elections so 1 that without having to raise money with special interests 2 candidates can deliver and citizens receive the information 3 needed for our democracy to flourish. 4 I've worked with the media for thirty years and 5 have owned my own business for twenty of those, and I think 6 today we're at a critical point to stop the progression of 7 media monopoly. A few years ago the rules were relaxed and 8 I've seen many negative changes as a result. 9 We must recognize the power of the media and take 10 a stand to ensure that the news, information and 11 entertainment that we receive isn't controlled by a select 12 few. That's it. 13 MS. DEAN: My name is Blanche Dean and I'm from 14 Durham, North Carolina. I'm here representing my fifty- plus 15 cycling and volunteer team and many other cyclists 16 participating in charity rides throughout North Carolina and 17 the Triangle area. The community of cyclists, and not just 18 the ones I'm representing here tonight and their supporters, 19 object to Clear Channel's continued ploy on inciting the 20 public to violence against cyclists. 21 The media mogul, Clear Channel, has run similar 22 campaigns in Cleveland and Houston. Their recent broadcast 23 on WDCG, also known as G- 105 in the Raleigh area, was not 24 the first time, but we're hoping it will be their last. 25 76 Broadcast Localism Hearing 77 As you heard, on the mornings of September 22nd 1 and 23rd, Clear Channel's employees, Bob and Madison, were 2 using the airwaves to instruct the motoring public to commit 3 a Class E felony by violating North Carolina General Statute 4 14- 32, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious 5 injury. 6 They were encouraging intentional assaults and 7 harm to cyclists saying cyclists had no right to be on the 8 road, they should be run off the road, and even have things 9 thrown at them. One personality indicated that he carries 10 empty Yoo- hoo bottles in his own car for just that purpose. 11 While I believe that these actions should not be 12 protected under free speech because they meet two criteria; 13 first, inciting the public to violence, and second, the 14 likelihood of success, which has been demonstrated by the 15 increased aggression for cyclists since these abhorrent 16 broadcasts. 17 I'm sure Clear Channel's personalities have been 18 strictly coached on which words not to use that make them 19 fall outside the realm of protection. My own husband and a 20 teammate were forced off the road by a motorist who screamed 21 at them to get on the sidewalk where they belong. 22 Clear Channel is guilty of reprehensible corporate 23 conduct at its very best. The actions of Clear Channel and 24 their on- air personalities should not be tolerated or 25 77 Broadcast Localism Hearing 78 permitted. Clear Channel needs to be reprimanded and made 1 to cease this type of broadcast or else have their license 2 lifted. 3 Broadcast radio stations are charged with 4 operating for the public good and as a public service. Many 5 cyclists perform a public service by riding in charity rides 6 and raising funds for research to find cures for things like 7 Multiple Sclerosis, diabetes and AIDS. 8 Recently 900 cyclists participated in the MS- 150 9 bike tour in New Bern, North Carolina and raised more than 10 $640,000; another 900 for the M. S. Tour to Tanglewood, and 11 raised more than half a million. 12 These are the people that are being targeted by 13 Clear Channel's personalities and employees. This is a 14 definite public disservice. Shame on them. They should not 15 be allowed to continue. If the FCC can't control this type 16 of activity, perhaps the community must band together and 17 solicit the aid of local law enforcement officials like our 18 Attorney General's Office. 19 AUDIENCE PARTICIPANT: Mr. Chairman and members of 20 the Commission, thank you for coming here and thank you for 21 allowing us to speak. I've heard the stories and I know I'm 22 not going to listen to Clear Channel entertainment anymore, 23 but I want to talk about a different kind of story, and it 24 comes from a chain of network radio stations. 25 78 Broadcast Localism Hearing 79 In my opinion a licensee shouldn't just perform 1 the minimal public service due under the license. Any 2 licensee should be a public asset and should be easily 3 recognizable by the public as an asset. This network that 4 I'm speaking of, Our Three Sons Broadcasting in Rock Hill, 5 is just that. 6 It's locally owned by people who have lived in 7 that community for twenty years, they have chaired 8 charities, they have -- they're the lay people in the 9 church, they have been the heads of associations. 10 As a former elected official, I can guarantee you 11 it was as accessible or more accessible than any other kind 12 of medium there regardless of who the candidate was and 13 regardless of the cause or what the cause was. And being on 14 the board of some nonprofits, I can speak to the fact that 15 there's no greater ally in getting your word out than what 16 this network is. 17 Rather than chase ratings and rather than do the 18 bare minimum you have to do, what a licensee should do is 19 they ought to pursue the excellence of their community, they 20 ought to care about whether that community is a better place 21 to live, and mainly because it's the place where they live 22 and where they raise their children. 23 Again, I commend them for the job they do and 24 thank you for coming. 25 79 Broadcast Localism Hearing 80 MR. PRICE: My name is Bill Price. I'm with 1 Country Cable out of Grand, North Carolina, and I'm a 2 satellite TV retailer. I sell Direct TV and Dish network 3 satellite TV systems. 4 And in our market out of Greensboro there's a lot 5 of customers in the fringe areas that do not receive a clear 6 signal off of a local antenna. Therefore they get their 7 signals from the satellite providers. 8 And that license is coming up for renewal in 2004, 9 and we'd like to recommend that you ask Congress to extend 10 that and keep it on permanently so that our customers won't 11 lose their distant network programming, their regular 12 network programming. Thank you. 13 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you. 14 MR. ECHOLS: Mr. Chairman, I'm Doug Echols, the 15 Mayor of Rock Hill, South Carolina. I want to thank you for 16 this opportunity to participate in this hearing tonight. 17 Life in America is really found on our main 18 streets, and where all citizens are engaged in learning and 19 living, where various entities interface to make communities 20 better; it is a process to be enhanced. 21 I'm speaking tonight in support of South Carolina 22 broadcasters, and most particularly in our -- for our two 23 local radio stations, WRHI- AM and WRHM- FM in Rock Hill. 24 It's been previously mentioned, the principles in these two 25 80 Broadcast Localism Hearing 81 stations live in our community and are very much an integral 1 part of our community and have used their talents to support 2 a lot of community activities. 3 Over the past twenty years the station has offered 4 a thirty- minute public affairs show called Straight Talk 5 from a local restaurant which showcases issues of importance 6 to our city, our county and our community. I've personally 7 appeared on that show and appreciate the forum it has given 8 me to discuss community issues that are important to all of 9 our citizens. 10 In addition they cover city council, county 11 council, delegation meetings and so forth, and many other 12 political events. 13 Rock Hill and York County have numerous community 14 events, festivals, the Jubilee Harvest of the Arts, 15 Summerfest and so on, as many communities do. These radio 16 stations have always been involved in the promotion and 17 development of live broadcast from these events. 18 Also at emergency times these stations step up to 19 provide dependable information as an asset to the community 20 so that our citizens are better informed. 21 The City of Rock Hill, York County and the 22 surrounding area is a better place for having these two 23 stations at work on behalf of our citizens and our 24 community. And I submit to you that that is the case 25 81 Broadcast Localism Hearing 82 throughout North and South Carolina. 1 I encourage the FCC through all its regulations to 2 facilitate a system of diverse media options which help to 3 make people better informed and Main Street a stronger 4 place. Thank you. 5 MR. JONES: Hello; my name is Russ Jones. I'm the 6 general manager of Carolina Metro Radio Corporation out of 7 Blacksburg, Virginia owned by the Baker family, actually who 8 has a number of stations, but the ones I'm responsible for 9 are regionally here in North and South Carolina. 10 And actually the question I am posing is on behalf 11 of the Hispanic community. We've got a strong outreach to 12 the Hispanic community. Since 1997 we've been developing 13 the stations throughout the Carolinas. Presently I've got 14 five full- time Spanish stations and we're very local. We're 15 all done on a local level. 16 I'm sure that everybody in Charlotte will be 17 familiar not with myself, but with Armory Pulsai (phonetic) 18 who is here. She's in contact with all the local government 19 officials all the time reaching out to the community. 20 But the question that we're constantly asked and 21 she's constantly asked and I'm constantly asked is why are 22 these stations an FCC concern, but why do stations go off 23 the air? I know that's the way they're licensed as daytime 24 stations or low power at night, but it's very hard to reach 25 82 Broadcast Localism Hearing 83 the community. 1 For example, we're the only station in Charlotte 2 and we've got 10,000 watts of power. Especially when 3 there's an emergency situation, severe weather and other 4 national or local news stories that pertain to the Spanish 5 community. At 5: 15 on November 1st our station will be off 6 the air and our Spanish audience will all of a sudden hear a 7 news talk station out of Boston, which does nothing to reach 8 the Hispanic community at all. 9 And on a local level I think you find a lot of 10 your -- especially the minority format stations are going to 11 be not the big 100, 000 watt FM stations that run 24 hours a 12 day, but more of the smaller stations either at low wattage 13 or licensed sunrise, sunset. 14 So just the question that I see you need to 15 consider is a way to reach the minorities with those 16 changes. Thank you. 17 REVEREND KING: Chairman Powell, we want to 18 welcome you from the city of Rock Hill and the County of 19 York and the State of South Carolina. On your next time 20 around I want you to know you can come to Rock Hill. We are 21 the All American city inclusive. And by the way, if you 22 don't mind, I'll tell you that I'm praying for you. 23 To you, the Commissioners, and to the panelists, 24 as well as those who are here now, my name is Reverend 25 83 Broadcast Localism Hearing 84 Ronald A. King. I am the founder and director of the Feed 1 the Hungry Program for North and South Carolina. 2 I represent Christians To Feed the Hungry; this is 3 a grassroots, self- help organization. Our responsibility is 4 basic; we serve our community and we see no problem in that. 5 There is a fine line between North and South Carolina and 6 it doesn't stop at the 90 mile marker. The problems are on 7 both sides of the line and we tend to cooperate. We tend to 8 be inclusive and not exclusive. 9 What I'm saying to you now is that WRHI- AM, WRHM- 10 FM stations have provided a special service to its 11 communities. It has given opportunities to people such as I 12 and others who are in the same position to serve our 13 communities unrestricted. That is inclusive to the 14 Oriental, Hispanic, Islam, Jewish communities, as well as 15 the Afro- American community. 16 I have been at this since November the 12th, 1976. 17 We are well known in what we do. We started WRHI- AM and 18 WRHM- FM stations and from that we've grown to the Charlotte 19 market, Power 98, the PEGs, believe it or not, to President 20 Jimmy Carter. We've been acknowledged by President Bill 21 Clinton and also President George Bush. 22 Our efforts are complete. All we're trying to say 23 is that more stations like WRHI should be allowed to 24 continue in their endeavor. They need to do the job that 25 84 Broadcast Localism Hearing 85 they do. 1 And one other thing is that we rely on our station 2 for our local city council information and delegation and 3 our up- to- date information. Our local radio stations are 4 well known and we want to say that we thank you for coming. 5 We want you to continue to come and to examine these issues 6 because there are many. 7 And these people who are here now have a complete 8 effort. Those from the bicycles to special interest groups, 9 even to those who own these stations, let them know that we 10 who are on the bottom rung of the ladder need that 11 opportunity to get to you. We thank you. 12 AUDIENCE PARTICIPANT: Good evening, Commissioners 13 and thank you for the opportunity to address the panel 14 tonight. I'm here to talk about radio. I think the radio 15 serves American's communities best when it was part of the 16 community. The keys were local talent, local programming, 17 interactivity with listeners. 18 When DJs and the program directors programmed 19 stations, local bands would get air play, listeners would 20 respond strongly, the buzz would spread, and a hit would be 21 made; songs were competing based on popularity and quality. 22 Contrast that to the current system. We're in a 23 play/ listener program nationally, spots in a play/ listener 24 program are auctioned off to the highest bidder. 25 85 Broadcast Localism Hearing 86 And, Commissioner Adelstein, I could E- mail you 1 tons of newspaper reports describing the system of 2 independent promotion. We've moved from a diversity of 3 music to a monotony of music spanned across multiple markets 4 in tune to the lowest common denominator. 5 Whether a song stays in rotation in my market 6 depends on how it tests out on a fifteen- second sound byte 7 on a phone poll in New York or Los Angeles. We have a local 8 audience listening to the radio, but radio stopped listening 9 to its local audiences long ago. 10 We must also mourn the tremendous loss of talent 11 in the industry the last few years. Very quietly and very 12 quickly, most local DJs in smaller markets are fired. DJ's 13 in larger markets were then paid a nominal fee to voice 14 track shows for the empty studios. They have marginalized 15 pretty much the whole industry. 16 Tens of thousands of DJs have lost their job 17 practically within a six month to a year period across the 18 country. It didn't end there. Record station managers, 19 news staff, promotion staff have all been laid off. At the 20 end of the day, the remaining staff puts the station on auto 21 pilot and turns off the lights and the signal is cut by 22 fifty percent. Even the signal's a casualty. The computer 23 system running the station is called profit. 24 All of this was made not possible by deregulation, 25 86 Broadcast Localism Hearing 87 but made inevitable by deregulation. I urge you to return 1 radio back to the people. Thank you. 2 MS. SCIENSKI: Good evening. My name is Gloria 3 Scienski and I'm the executive director of the Make A Wish 4 Foundation of central and western North Carolina. We 5 basically cover half the state, and I'm here for two reasons 6 tonight. 7 First I'd like to thank Magic 96.1, WWMG and Clear 8 Channel for all they do for our community, both for adults 9 and children, but especially for sick kids in our community. 10 Second I'm here to tell you that from a local 11 perspective, broadcasting and localism is alive and well 12 thanks to Magic and Clear Channel. Our organization has a 13 great working relationship with our local radio station, 14 Magic 96. 1. 15 We would like to thank WWMG, Magic 96.1 for 16 helping us to accomplish our mission. They sponsor the Make 17 A Wish Wednesdays for four consecutive weeks during November 18 for two consecutive years, and have raised over $300,000 to 19 help local sick children. This money paid for more than 20 sixty wishes for children right here in our own community. 21 Additionally I'd like to thank them for opening up 22 their studio and sharing in the power of the Wish. 23 Children, their families, health care providers, volunteers 24 and donors, joined the radio talent to tell Wish stories and 25 87 Broadcast Localism Hearing 88 raise money to fund additional missions. 1 Each member of the Magic Clear Channel team 2 extended their efforts far beyond anything we at Make A Wish 3 imagined. Magic and Clear Channel is definitely committed 4 to the children in our community and to our community. Not 5 to sound too hokey, but Magic makes magic for our kids. 6 Thank you. 7 MS. PERFEDA: I'm Karen Perfeda (phonetic), vice 8 president of radiothon for Children's Miracle Network. Our 9 organization was founded in 1983 in hopes to raise funds and 10 awareness for 170 of the premiere hospitals treating 11 children in the U. S. and Canada. 12 While our organization is not political, we'd be 13 remiss if we did not share the story of radio's local 14 efforts on behalf of our hospitals. 15 Six years ago we began our radiothon efforts under 16 the leadership of Bob Lynn, a former executive with Capitol 17 Broadcasting. As we began to call on stations across the 18 country, one of the top factors in getting a station's 19 agreement to host a three to four- day event was that all 20 money raised would stay in their local markets. 21 Thanks to underwriting at Forresters, an 22 international financial organization, we were able to offer 23 national support to this program which benefits the 24 stations, local hospitals and the children they treat. 25 88 Broadcast Localism Hearing 89 In just six years 200 stations have joined our 1 efforts and this year we'll raise $30 million for their 2 hospitals. Our stations represent every major ownership 3 group as well as many smaller companies, and not one of 4 these stations charges for their time. 5 Mr. Goodmon of Capitol Broadcasting has WRAL which 6 just did their tenth event for us and in four days raised 7 $900,000 for Duke Children's Hospital. Last year 60 Clear 8 Channel stations participated giving more than 3, 000 hours 9 of time and raising $6.6 million. 10 We found stations eager to be an active part of 11 their community, taking their commitment beyond the airwaves 12 to include a variety of fundraising events and activities 13 within the local Children's Miracle Network hospitals. 14 Thank you for giving us this opportunity to tell 15 our story and also to thank our stations for helping better 16 the lives of children. 17 MR. WALKER: Mr. Chairman, Committee members, 18 thank you for holding this forum and welcome to Charlotte. 19 My name is Bucky Walker. I am the chairman of the board of 20 governors for the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. We're an 21 organization representing 22, 000 Shriners of the two 22 Carolinas. Our philanthropy raises money to support 22 23 hospitals throughout the U. S., Canada and Mexico. Last year 24 on active role we had 188, 000 little heros that we treated. 25 89 Broadcast Localism Hearing 90 I must quickly elaborate a little bit on who I am 1 and what I represent to give you a backdrop as to why WRHI 2 is so very important and critical to us. 3 For the operating year '03 we have a $605 million 4 operating budget. Extract 25 million for research and 5 development, the balance -- I'm sorry. 92 percent of that 6 balance goes to the daily operation of the hospitals. We 7 only have eight percent that goes into administrative ends. 8 We accept no third- party monies, no government, no 9 insurance, and certainly no family pays. Well, then, how do 10 we get all this money? We're talking about $1,600, 000 a 11 day. Well, we get it from people like Alan Elliott and 12 Manny Kimbell. 13 Let me give you an example. We've been down there 14 in Rock Hill now for three years, and quickly they have 15 probably raised for us in excess of $60,000. They've given 16 freely of their time. We must spend at least from July 17 through December roughly twenty hours on the air, and to 18 boot that, they -- let me quickly summarize and say that 19 sometimes I think they're just like the Shriner 20 organization. They give so much I believe they're a 21 nonprofit organization, not solely focused on the money that 22 I've heard so much here tonight. 23 If you want your records on the air, call these 24 men over here. They'll get it. 25 90 Broadcast Localism Hearing 91 MS. MERRITT: I'll do it. 1 MR. WALKER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 2 AUDIENCE PARTICIPANT: Good evening, Mr. Chairman 3 and Commissioners and panelists. I'm Paige Throop 4 (phonetic), and I'm the director for the Children's Miracle 5 Network locally here at Children's Hospital at Carolina's 6 Medical Center. And I want to talk about one issue that's 7 been brought out, Chairman Powell, in your opening remarks 8 were we want to find out how these stations and broadcasters 9 are responsive to the needs of the community. 10 And I just want to say it goes beyond the legal 11 obligation, I want to share with you some examples that it's 12 truly a personal commitment to our community. 13 Lite 102. 9 is a Clear Channel station here in 14 Charlotte, and for the past three years they have broken 15 their format and given us four days of airtime to tell our 16 story and the story of tens of thousands of children served 17 in our community at the Children's Hospital at Carolina's 18 Medical Center. 19 And we're so proud to say a hundred percent of 20 that money stays right here, and also to let you all know, 21 they have raised $900,000 in the last three years and are 22 looking forward to a great fourth year in December. 23 But these efforts are just not for those four 24 days. The entire station is behind the children of 25 91 Broadcast Localism Hearing 92 Charlotte and our area, and we truly serve children from 1 across the region. We serve children -- we had 6700 2 children served at our hospital on an in- patient basis last 3 year, about 100, 000 on an out- patient basis, and 74 out of 4 100 North Carolina counties children were served, and 33 out 5 of 40 South Carolina stations. 6 And truly the station really embraces this effort 7 to help children that are babies who weigh less than a pound 8 to children up to 18 years old. 9 Also I just want to say that the hosts, Tony and 10 Jen, they have shared throughout the year the stories of 11 these children and really it's a personal commitment. And 12 our localism is not just on the radio, but we have great 13 partners with WCMC, which is NBC- 6 and a few other stations 14 here in Charlotte. 15 They've been our wonderful partner for the last 16 six years, and their commitment is just not for that one day 17 for our celebration broadcast. They support us with PSAs, 18 covering grassroots efforts events throughout the year. 19 So our $2. 2 million we raise, we raise one dollar 20 at a time. We couldn't do it without the great work of 21 those two people that I mentioned, and when I look around 22 this room I see great people at WSOC- FM and many other radio 23 stations that have helped us with PSAs and community service 24 efforts throughout the year and we hope it will continue. 25 92 Broadcast Localism Hearing 93 Thank you so much. 1 MR. BELL: I'm Frank Bell; I'm the director of the 2 YMCA in Rock Hill, South Carolina. And I'd like for you to 3 know that I consider local ownership of radio stations 4 crucial, and in Rock Hill, South Carolina we have that. 5 We have two wonderful owners that care about the 6 community, Alan Miller, one of the owners. I go to church 7 with Alan. We've been on several committees together in the 8 community. Our annual Come See Me Festivals, I help Alan 9 with high school football, and we're one of the few stations 10 around that still cover high school football on Friday 11 nights. 12 We do an Easter egg hunt together each year with 13 hiding 75, 000 Easter eggs for 5 to 10,000 kids, and believe 14 me, I wouldn't do it without Alan's encouragement. It's not 15 exactly a fun day. We also have Manny Kimbell; Manny's on 16 the YMCA's board of directors and he puts in countless time 17 at the Y. He's chaired our campaign, capital campaign, 18 that's just raised $7 million to help build two new YMCA's, 19 and we consider Manny and Alan an important part of our 20 community. 21 In addition to the local news, and they do a great 22 job with that, the emergencies have to be mentioned. They 23 don't happen often, but when they do, the radio, the local 24 radio is the only source for gathering news. 25 93 Broadcast Localism Hearing 94 At the YMCA we have a child care program with more 1 than 400 kids in the program, and in the South when you have 2 a snow or an ice storm it's often in the middle of the night 3 and you don't know if school's on or off, whether the kids 4 should go to school, whether the Y is open. They're the 5 guys that I call and I could call them at home if I need to 6 to make sure that local news is gathered during this crisis 7 for many families when they're trying to decide what to do 8 with their children. 9 In addition to that, when Hurricane Hugo came 10 through a few years back, and that was a big deal, all TV 11 stations went out and a lot of radio stations went out and 12 they managed to pull themselves together. And a week or so 13 after the storm had hit, when people were still needing a 14 hot shower, the YMCA called and they knew because of the 15 local radios. And after a week or so, I'm sure that's more 16 than an emergency. 17 In addition, I have to mention, a lot of times 18 local news can be a more important gatherer of national 19 news, and we also had an opportunity to do that. We had a 20 bus stolen that ended up in Honduras, and the local radio 21 station made sure that the world found out about it. Paul 22 Harvey picked up on it, the BBC picked up on it, all because 23 the local radio, they did the story. 24 And yes, we did get it back a year and two days 25 94 Broadcast Localism Hearing 95 later on a banana boat to Fort Lauderdale, Florida straight 1 from Honduras. 2 MS. COWAN: I'm Lois Cowan and I'm co- owner of 3 some bicycle stores in Cleveland, Ohio and I'll try not to 4 repeat what's been said already. The anti- cyclist drive 5 time broadcast started on June 30th in Cleveland and it 6 continued for six days. You've heard about the Raleigh 7 ones. 8 On September 2nd, KLOL in Houston rebroadcast a 9 program that's especially disturbing because it was three 10 days after a horrendous accident involving twenty bicycles 11 and a truck that left two Houston riders dead. Houston is 12 also extremely difficult for a cyclist. There've been 13 13 people killed while riding bicycles in Houston in the last 14 year. 15 During the broadcast, Clear Channel employees and 16 callers encouraged motorists to do things like speed past 17 the bicycles and slam your brakes on. One of the DJs 18 actually said they're all wearing helmets, so they'll live; 19 throw things such as bottles and cans at cyclists; have your 20 passenger open the car door at the rider, have the passenger 21 hit them with a whiffle ball bat; shoot at the tires with 22 pellet guns; swerve towards the cycles to scare them and 23 force them off the road; or bump the back wheel with the 24 bumper of your car. 25 95 Broadcast Localism Hearing 96 It's my understanding that the FCC will deny 1 applications for license renewal if the licensee exhibits 2 poor character. Since approximately 45, 000 cyclists a year 3 are involved in accidents with motor vehicles, encouraging, 4 provoking and inciting motorists to attack cyclists shows 5 extremely poor character. 6 Clear Channel refuses to release tapes or 7 transcripts of the programs. Since they chose to pay 8 $10, 000 towards cycling advocacy in Cleveland, broadcast 9 apologies, and run hundreds of public service announcements, 10 a reasonable and prudent person would assume that they feel 11 they have some liability or license exposure. 12 We want Clear Channel to stop promoting violence 13 and we want Clear Channel to undo the damage they've done. 14 And I have part of some of the broadcast where they are 15 personally attacking me, and I was the person who asked that 16 question, and I just wanted to hear the response, and they 17 also ridicule the FCC, so you might want to listen to those 18 tapes. 19 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Let me make an announcement and 20 then make a proposal. I would like to extend the open mike 21 time a little longer. It was our plan to try to go to about 22 7: 50 or 7: 50, 7: 55, take a very short five minute break, 23 start up again at 8, and we'll just shave a little bit off 24 on the card questions at the end of the second panel if 25 96 Broadcast Localism Hearing 97 that's acceptable to everyone. 1 MR. WATERS: Good evening. My name is Steven 2 Waters and I've travelled several hours to be here to 3 represent the League of American Bicyclists and its 300, 000 4 affiliated members across the country. 5 As you've heard, Clear Channel Communication's 6 radio stations in three cities recently broadcast some talk 7 shows with the hosts telling the listeners encouraging 8 violence against bicyclists. This also occurred on Clear 9 Channel's station in San Jose, California in 2001, on WDCG, 10 G- 105, what DG -- what G- 105 basically did was advocate what 11 amounts to assault with a deadly weapon or felony assault 12 against bicyclists. 13 This reckless promotion of violence against 14 bicyclists is reprehensible and shows that Clear Channel 15 stations are not operating in the public interest. 16 Indeed, when one of the DJs in Cleveland was asked 17 by The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper whether his show 18 helped the public, he said, quite frankly, I'm not here to 19 serve the interest of the community; I'm serving my interest 20 by being here. End quote. 21 The fact that Clear Channel has promoted violence 22 against bicyclists on four separate radio stations 23 demonstrates a pattern of behavior that clearly warrants FCC 24 scrutiny. 25 97 Broadcast Localism Hearing 98 As the broadcast promoted criminal behavior and 1 the causing physical harm to bicyclists, this matter goes 2 beyond free speech issues to the heart of whether or not it 3 is in the public interest to allow stations owned by this 4 company to continue broadcasting. 5 The League of American Bicyclists urges the FCC to 6 heed its own mandate and follow the lead of Commissioner 7 Copps in ensuring that licenses are not renewed without 8 examining how stations are serving their local communities. 9 And thank you very much for this opportunity to speak for 10 input. 11 MR. HAND: Good evening. I'm David Hand, I live 12 in Raleigh, North Carolina. I'd like to speak to a couple 13 of points about the WDCG incident. The damage that's been 14 done in our community extends beyond cyclists. 15 What they've advocated that commuters do is a 16 felony; people acting on their advice are putting themselves 17 in jeopardy of being sent to prison. They know that road 18 rage is a problem in our area. They live in our area; they 19 know that that's a problem that local government's trying to 20 address. 21 Instead of doing their part to address this 22 problem, they're seeking to profit from it. It's really 23 disgusting abuse of the public trust and the right of the 24 privilege of broadcasting on the airwaves. 25 98 Broadcast Localism Hearing 99 Station management contends that after several 1 days of reflection on this issue, after we had spoken with 2 their advertisers and had some of their advertisers pull the 3 ads, it suddenly occurred to them that inciting violence and 4 killing innocent Americans is not humorous nor entertaining. 5 That was their initial response throughout, that this was 6 humor and entertainment. 7 I would like to ask that the FCC let us know what 8 expectations they have in exchange for access to the public 9 airwaves beyond evaluating the license when it comes up for 10 renewal. These people use the public airwaves every day, 11 they need to be conscious of their commitment to the public 12 good every day and they need to be held accountable for 13 that. Thank you. 14 MR. HAYES: Mr. Chairman and members of the 15 Commission, my name is Wes Hayes. I serve with the South 16 Carolina Senate from York County and Rock Hill right across 17 the border. And seeing the challenges we face at the state 18 level, I'm kind of enjoying seeing the challenges you face 19 at the federal level. 20 I don't have a lot to add to your problems 21 tonight. I just wanted to first of all commend you for 22 being here. I think -- I can't think of anything better 23 that you can do than to go out throughout the country and 24 find out the opinions of people on various issues, and I 25 99 Broadcast Localism Hearing 100 commend you for that. 1 I want to just say a word for two stations that 2 have already been mentioned many times, WRHI and WRHM down 3 in Rock Hill. They are truly the voice of our community, 4 and I don't say that lightly. I've never seen anything like 5 the coverage they give to the meetings and local events, to 6 emergency coverage and to the political campaigns, to local 7 sports. They really are the voice and certainly I think 8 it's something that should be applauded. 9 The only comment that I can say negative about the 10 station is when you get very far from Rock Hill you can't 11 pick them up, so they need a little bit more power, so if 12 you can see granting that to them. So I just wanted to 13 commend them and thank you for being here. 14 T. J.: My name is T. J. and I'm with the Ace and 15 T. J. show on WNKS here in Charlotte, part of the Infinity 16 Broadcasting Corporation of Charlotte. And you'll have to 17 forgive me if I sound a little bit exhausted; we just got 18 back from taking our fourth 727 load of children with 19 terminal illnesses to Disneyworld for an all expenses paid, 20 once in a lifetime trip. 21 Over the five and a half years that my partner and 22 I have been in Charlotte we've raised hundreds of thousands 23 of dollars for charities from -- everything from the Red 24 Cross to hurricane relief, to prom dresses for girls who 25 100 Broadcast Localism Hearing 101 couldn't afford them locally, to the family of an officer 1 that was killed in the line of duty. 2 So you local artists will have to forgive me if we 3 haven't had the time to take on the responsibility of 4 launching your music career. 5 (Applause.) 6 Ms. Merritt, you seem to contradict yourself a 7 little bit when you say that you don't want the government 8 to be involved with radio, yet you're asking an ever- 9 growing, ever- expanding federal government to mandate the 10 play of your records on radio stations. 11 MS. MERRITT: I certainly am not indicating that. 12 T. J.: And you say that the radio stations 13 shouldn't be worried about their bottom line when you openly 14 admit that that's what you're trying to reach is your bottom 15 line. 16 MS. MERRITT: I'm not -- if you want music, you're 17 going to have to find a way, we're going to have to find a 18 way to cooperate because we both need to stay in business. 19 But, you know, I certainly don't live by a pool. I struggle 20 to make ends meet and I have a lot of respect for that. So 21 I'm not here to promote my career. I'm here to give North 22 Carolina musicians a voice so that they can keep 23 contributing just as you have. 24 (Applause.) 25 101 Broadcast Localism Hearing 102 T. J.: Do her comments count in my two minutes? 1 Let me say this, I know this will be indecent language to a 2 lot of people in here, but ours is a society built on 3 capitalism. And in order to make a profit, you have to 4 abide by the rules of capitalism. And we can service the 5 community and still make a profit to keep these radio 6 stations and TV stations on the air. And tomorrow morning 7 your newspaper will show up with whatever the heck the 8 people want to put in it in there. Thank you very much. 9 MS. GARNER: Chairman Powell, distinguished 10 Commissioners, members of the panel, Ladies and Gentlemen, 11 my name is Elsie Garner. I'm the president and CEO of WTVI, 12 Charlotte's own public television station. 13 In the debate over localism and broadcasting, I 14 would request that the FCC give consideration to that last 15 bastion of locally controlled, free over- the- air, public 16 television and radio stations. 17 The FCC had the foresight to reserve channels for 18 nonprofit, educational use many years ago. I urge you today 19 to continue to reserve for the future a chair at the table 20 for public use, because without some care, this local 21 resource could disappear in digital transition. 22 I request you to establish rules to guarantee 23 cable and satellite carriage for the digital age. 24 Otherwise, public television will be faced with operating 25 102 Broadcast Localism Hearing 103 costs for two stations at once with the exposure of only one 1 station. And in the digital world, satellite television 2 should not be exempt from the kinds of requirements that 3 apply to cable when it comes to digital signals for the 4 protection of local stations such as WTVI. 5 WTVI is owned and operated by a local broadcasting 6 authority. 83 percent of our budget comes directly from the 7 community we serve. That's local government and local 8 business, local foundations, and yes, local viewers like 9 these people behind me. This means we have to be responsive 10 to local issues and local preferences. 11 WTVI broadcasts approximately twice the PBS 12 national average of locally produced programs such as the 13 election debates for city council and the school board, and 14 our Ready to Learn Service as has been cited twice by the 15 Department of Education as one of the country's five best 16 outreach services. 17 Overwhelmingly I hear from our viewers that they 18 consider WTVI to be an essential community resource in the 19 heart of the Carolinas. Thank you for the opportunity to 20 come before you tonight and thank you for coming to 21 Charlotte. 22 AUDIENCE PARTICIPANT: Chairman Powell, welcome to 23 Charlotte; we really appreciate you being here. 24 Commissioner Copps and Adelstein and Mr. Goodmon, I'm a 25 103 Broadcast Localism Hearing 104 couch potato, and I've been forced to watch all this stuff 1 on television the last five years. 2 But I think you three gentlemen should be given 3 the Congressional Medal of Honor for patriotism for 4 defending our democracy, because I see democracy under 5 attack in many different forms. But basically there's a 6 confluence between capitalism and our society and capitalism 7 is winning. 8 There's a great book just coming out by William 9 Grieder called The Soul of Capitalism in which he states 10 clearly why there is no soul in capitalism, and what we need 11 to do to change things before we lose what we have in 12 America. But what you gentlemen have before you is the 13 chance to help really improve our country and our democracy, 14 things that have been stated by all these people. And I'm 15 so glad to be here in the start in Charlotte, and I feel 16 very honored you're here helping us. 17 I want to offer one example. We had a great 18 example by Ms. Merritt about what happens to people when 19 they let the different industries consolidate to such a 20 great degree that people are squeezed out and our values are 21 squeezed out with it. 22 My example, and it comes from my heart, is I have 23 a favorite candidate in the democratic election coming up, 24 and I've been watching C- Span for the last almost year, I 25 104 Broadcast Localism Hearing 105 guess it is, and I've seen them perform in Iowa over and 1 over and over again, and I know these people are doing well. 2 My candidate came on CNN, the first chance they 3 had for mass media, communication to the world, and he got 4 of all the candidates -- everyone got at least 55 percent 5 more time than he got. One of them got 174 percent more 6 time than he got. His name is Senator Dennis -- 7 Representative Dennis Kusinich from Ohio. 8 The polls that they tell us about are that he has 9 two percent of the population are for him. They don't poll 10 in Iowa and they don't tell you that. 11 MS. HARMAN: Thank you for allowing me to be here 12 tonight to share our story. My name is Rita Harman. I'm 13 with the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer 14 Society is a national nonprofit organization, and our goal 15 is to eliminate cancer. We also do research, education, 16 service and advocacy in the community. 17 We've had an opportunity to partner with several 18 radio stations and television stations locally. WSOC, WGIB, 19 WBAV, NPR, WFAE and several other stations we've had an 20 opportunity to partner with over the last few years. 21 They have given us an opportunity to share our 22 message, to create awareness about cancer and cancer 23 prevention in the community, and we certainly appreciate 24 that. We could not have done that without them. 25 105 Broadcast Localism Hearing 106 The American Cancer Society does not have a media 1 budget, so we appreciate the opportunity to go on their 2 stations, to take survivors and talk about their issues and 3 what the American Cancer Society can do for them and for 4 those we hope will never be diagnosed with cancer. 5 We also appreciate the opportunity to partner with 6 stations like the Link, we partner with WBTV. They have 7 given us an opportunity to participate in -- let me back up 8 and say we have given them an opportunity to participate in 9 a program we call Relay for Life. 10 In partnering with them we've been able to raise 11 over $500,000 for our cancer research. And our hope is that 12 in the future we will be able to continue to partner with 13 organizations like WBAV and like WBTV in order to create 14 additional awareness about cancer and cancer prevention. I 15 thank you all for this opportunity to speak tonight. 16 MR. DAY: Chairman Powell and Commissioners and 17 panelists, my name is Steve Day and I was one of the 18 announcers from Los Angeles who provided North Carolina 19 stations with music and announcers back in 1987 when the 20 Fairness Doctrine was eliminated and the veto could not be 21 overturned. That displaced some 1500 to 2500 local 22 announcers in small and medium markets, and that continues 23 today. 24 I have quit my LMA appointment job at a station in 25 106 Broadcast Localism Hearing 107 California because the owners were telling me to take on the 1 responsibility to offer local programming to two other 2 cities outside my city. This happens every day in small and 3 medium markets. I have travelled 2500 miles from California 4 in my car to tell you today that this is happening in over 5 10,000 radio stations. 6 Does it concern the FCC at all that 75 to 80 7 percent of small and medium sized stations do not have an 8 individual or human being at that station from 8: 00 P. M. 9 until 5 A. M. in the morning? Not all stations do this. 10 Would it concern the FCC at all to know that that 11 percentage of stations do not have an attendant from Friday 12 at 8 P. M. to Monday morning when at 5 A. M. when the local 13 crew comes in? 14 Ten billion dollars is invested in one diversified 15 company alone, and multi- millions are invested by those same 16 banks that invest in Arbitron, their rating service. 17 I'll be heading to D. C. tomorrow and I'll be 18 talking with representatives to change the legislation so 19 that you can articulate that said legislation of the 20 political party that is in control. In August I met with 21 Representative Robin Hayes, one of his assistants. I told 22 him about this and he seemed very, very concerned. 23 I'll be talking with someone, an advisor, not the 24 National Security Advisor herself, but an aid to her to 25 107 Broadcast Localism Hearing 108 discuss would this be at all important to those involved in 1 terrorism -- counter- terrorism to know that this country is 2 left alone at night until 5 A. M. in the mornings and on the 3 weekends. 4 I'll be asking representatives in Congress to help 5 you find these people, imprison them if necessary, and get 6 to their pocketbooks. 7 MR. CUNNINGHAM: Hello. My name is Darrell 8 Cunningham and I represent Mothers of Murdered Offspring 9 MOMO is a Charlotte- based 501C3 organization dedicated to 10 the reduction of violence in our community. MOMO has a good 11 working relationship with our local radio and TV stations, 12 WSOC, WCNC, WCCB, WBTV, News 14 Carolina, WFAE, WBT radio, 13 WBAB, WPEG, WCHH, just to name a few. 14 We would like to thank the stations previously 15 mentioned for helping our organization throughout its 16 history. For example, the promotion of our nine annual 17 nonviolence weekends, coverage of our community candlelight 18 memorial services, coverage of our balloon release and 19 remembrance, the celebration of our over ten years of 20 service, and their continued dedication to keep unsolved 21 cases in the public eye and help seek justice. 22 I recognize that there's been a great deal of 23 attention paid to broadcast localism at the FCC over the 24 last several weeks. I'm here for two reasons. 25 108 Broadcast Localism Hearing 109 First I would like to say thank you to the 1 previous stations mentioned, and I would like to say as a 2 North Carolinian I'm here to tell you from a local 3 perspective broadcast localism is alive and well in the 4 Carolinas. Thank you. 5 MR. FORCELLO: Mr. Chairman, my name is Bob 6 Forcello (phonetic). I'm from the North Carolina Center for 7 Missing Persons; a letter will follow from the Secretary of 8 Crime Control and Public Safety. I'm the Amber Alert 9 project officer here in North Carolina. I'm here to support 10 local broadcasting. 11 If it were not for the local broadcasters in North 12 Carolina's Association of Broadcasters there would be no 13 Amber Alert. Since the bill was signed into law in North 14 Carolina on June 12th, we have had two Amber Alerts. It's 15 not business, I believe, that prompts the broadcasters to 16 get involved. I think it's community spirit. 17 The North Carolina Association of Broadcasters has 18 been instrumental in developing the Amber Alert program and 19 keeping it alive. Again, a letter will follow from the 20 Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety. 21 MS. PEVIA: Mr. Chairman, my name is Wanda Pevia. 22 (phonetic). I'm here to tell you a little personal story. 23 My daughter was abducted in June of 1999. She was returned 24 home this past March 2003. If it hadn't been for the local 25 109 Broadcast Localism Hearing 110 news media, the man who abducted my daughter, he would never 1 have been apprehended. 2 I want to thank the local news media and the local 3 radio stations for their help and support in apprehending 4 him. Thank you. 5 AUDIENCE PARTICIPANT: How's everybody doing? 6 Look, my problem's not as big as some of the problems 7 addressed here, but obviously local artists being played on 8 the radio is a big issue because we have a panelist that is 9 a representative of that. 10 So in turn I have a -- I'm part of a company. My 11 name is Gus. My professional pseudonym is G- U-$. I'm from 12 Charlotte and basically I've been in music my whole life. 13 So I'm one of the best, but I haven't been respected as 14 that. I don't know why, but I know I'm part of this record 15 label named Policy Entertainment Group LLC, and we've made 16 many efforts, especially with stations like 92.7 about 17 getting play. 18 We have BDS encoding and MP- 3 format and 19 everything technically that needed to be done. We're street 20 certified because that's all I know. And forgive my rugged 21 exterior, but that's where I'm coming from with this. 22 So basically I was just pulling off what people 23 have been talking about today, they've helped out local 24 artists as much as they can. I've only heard of one 25 110 Broadcast Localism Hearing 111 referral to a local artist, which is, like, ridiculous 1 because we have, like, a million local artists that haven't 2 been heard on the radio and turning out, like I say, to the 3 community. 4 And to the panelists, I appreciate your support 5 and your inquiry about this topic right here because it is 6 important. I just want to stress that importance. I'm 7 going to keep it short. Thanks. 8 MR. BOW: Mr. Chairman, my name is Wally Bow and 9 I'm a journalist living in Asheville, North Carolina. I 10 moved to Asheville in 1983 to become the director of the 11 news bureau at the University of North Carolina there. I'd 12 like to describe the changes in local broadcast journalism 13 I've witnessed over the last twenty years. 14 Over the first two or three years we could call a 15 major press conference for our major news we had, such as 16 hiring a new chancellor or a million dollar grant, and we 17 would have three or four radio journalists show up as well 18 as three TV journalists, one from our local ABC affiliate 19 and one each from Spartenburg, the CBS affiliate, and 20 Greenville, the NBC affiliate, both of which had bureaus in 21 Asheville at that time, and of course we had local print 22 done on us as well. 23 However, by 1990 this picture had changed 24 radically as the locally owned radio stations were bought up 25 111 Broadcast Localism Hearing 112 by bigger media companies and they began dismantling the 1 local news operations. By 1990 only one commercial radio 2 station in western North Carolina had a full- time field 3 reporter and studio news staff sufficient to produce a daily 4 local news program. 5 I should add that the 24 county region of western 6 North Carolina is roughly the size of the State of Vermont. 7 Today that radio station, after being purchased by Clear 8 Channel three years ago, no longer has a field reporter. 9 And instead of producing twenty minutes of local news with 10 hourly updates, the reduced news staff now only produces 11 nine minutes a day. None of that news reporting is done out 12 in the field or in the community and is regularly from the 13 Associated Press. 14 The Greenville- Spartenburg TV stations after 15 having been purchased by large broadcast chains have closed 16 their Asheville bureaus leaving us only with our local ABC 17 affiliate. Today a major news conference will probably get 18 zero broadcast journalists. 19 Clearly the growing concentration of media 20 ownership has greatly reduced the amount of local broadcast 21 news media in the mountain region. 22 To add insult to injury, several years ago our 23 local ABC affiliate was purchased by Sinclair Broadcasting 24 which soon began featuring editorials by a fellow named Mark 25 112 Broadcast Localism Hearing 113 Himan from an undisclosed location identified only as news 1 central. 2 What was even more puzzling to viewers in the 3 mountains was that every four to fifth editorial blasted the 4 liberal legislature not in North Carolina, but in Maryland. 5 Why are viewers in western North Carolina hearing editorial 6 commentaries about the Maryland Legislature? It turns out 7 that Sinclair is based in Baltimore. 8 Clearly Sinclair is using its local affiliates not 9 to produce or comment on the local news, but to promote 10 their editorial viewpoints and issues of little interest to 11 the citizens of western North Carolina. 12 Please put the brakes on media ownership with 13 further consolidation. Please support issues like the Mayor 14 of Charlotte mentioned allowing local communities to enforce 15 their cable franchise agreements, to have more public access 16 TV. 17 I do want to thank you for the low power FM radio 18 initiative. Thanks. 19 MS. ELWELL: My name is Beverly Elwell and I am a 20 hard of hearing consumer. If localism means responsiveness 21 by a broadcaster, cable operator, satellite distributors, 22 and other multi- channel video programming distributors to 23 its community, then we need to understand that what's 24 already in place by the FCC through the Telecommunications 25 113 Broadcast Localism Hearing 114 Act of 1996, and that is about closed captioning and using 1 closed captioning correctly for deaf and hard of hearing 2 consumers. 3 But I want to especially address why it's so 4 important during emergencies and disaster situations. As 5 you see on this television we have here, and you've got a 6 monitor over there, but this is realtime captioning. 7 Everything is being captioned, everything that's being said 8 is being captioned. And that's great when it's got a 9 certain line that is being scrolled and used for closed 10 captioning. 11 When local networks use scrolling or the scripting 12 process, then sometimes they're using the same line so it 13 covers up the closed captioning which is not supposed to 14 happen. 15 So what I would like to see as would other 600,000 16 deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the State of North 17 Carolina is that closed captioning be used appropriately, 18 and not have the local networks or any network say well, we 19 can't do that because of the bottom dollar that it requires. 20 It's already the law; rules were already provided 21 for it. We just need to learn and enforce the appropriate 22 use of closed captioning. Thank you. 23 MR. CASTRO: Good evening and welcome to 24 Charlotte. My name is Hermonie Castro (phonetic); I'm the 25 114 Broadcast Localism Hearing 115 chair of the Hispanic Political Coalition of Mecklenburg 1 County. And as a concerned citizen of Charlotte and having 2 lived in this community for over thirty years, I would like 3 to bring some points to the attention of the Commission. 4 First of all, during the time I have lived in this 5 community, I have seen the disappearance of locally owned 6 media to the point that this community in the television 7 area has only one locally owned channel. With the ownership 8 of the media changing from local to a few national and 9 global companies, there has been a continuing separation of 10 local coverage and community involvement. 11 There are some exceptions as in WPEG, Power 98, a 12 radio station that has partnered with the Latino community 13 in a campaign to register voters on a daily basis. Over the 14 last five years we have registered around 25, 000 voters, 15 and have through their community focus programs have been 16 able to educate the community of the civic duties of the 17 succession of the right to vote, as well as explaining how 18 the municipal county and state and government work and how 19 to contact their elected official. They have also sponsored 20 the Latin- American Festival. 21 Another bright spot for us has been the Hispanic 22 radio station, 1030 AM. This station has excelled in the 23 involvement and service to the Latino community in all the 24 areas that concern us. 25 115 Broadcast Localism Hearing 116 To summarize, we would like to see more community 1 coverage and involvement of the local media and are opposed 2 to the consolidation of the ownership of the media as has 3 recently happened with the Spanish speaking TV and radio 4 network, and is being sponsored by the FCC. 5 This consolidation will only result in the 6 diminishing of balance and diverse opinions that the 7 American people deserve. Thank you. 8 MR. BRAWLEY: Mr. Chairman, thank you for 9 extending the time for public comment. My name is Bill 10 Brawley and I'm a former elected and appointed official here 11 locally, but I'm speaking as a private citizen. 12 Recently I've been aware of a commercial campaign 13 that's touted how good a major station owner is in the 14 Charlotte area. I haven't heard anything tonight to say the 15 local stations couldn't be just as user friendly. 16 I have 15 FM stations programmed with the buttons 17 on my car. I'm guilty of channel surfing. When commercials 18 come on, I look for music and a lot of them belong to that 19 major system operator. It is my perception that all of 20 their stations run commercials at the same time. My three 21 teenagers have made the same comment to me. 22 We expect corporations to use their financial 23 integration to affect their bottom line. It's the American 24 way; it's the way we do things in a competitive society. 25 116 Broadcast Localism Hearing 117 But broadcasting is not as competitive because there's not 1 free entry. There is limited space on the dial and you have 2 to allocate it. Economists call this the commons problem. 3 It relates to the common grazing areas in the 4 English villages that were often over grazed and in poor 5 shape. The reason being it is in the individual self- 6 interest in maximizing its own benefit of the common 7 resource. We've seen it tonight. How many people ran past 8 the red light and burned up the time that others of us would 9 not have had had you not extended the time tonight. We 10 can't expect corporations to not act like the people that 11 are in them. 12 We must restrict the influence of any one group or 13 any individual. So I ask you to restrict the ownership 14 rules further. Thank you. 15 MR. HONEYCUTT: Hi, I'm Rick Honeycutt. I'm a 16 satellite retailer, and the reason why I'm here is the local 17 broadcasters have been slow in making high definition 18 television service available to the satellite TV retailer. 19 My customers tell me that the Charlotte broadcast 20 station HDTV is not currently available to everyone in the 21 Charlotte TV market. For instance, many rural households 22 located within Ashe, Watauga, Caudwell and Burke Counties 23 cannot receive the broadcast high definition setting. 24 I have a two- part question. As the expert agent 25 117 Broadcast Localism Hearing 118 on the digital transition, would you support the creation of 1 a task force in determining whether rural households 2 currently receive the digital signal or their local networks 3 and independent stations? 4 And upon determination that some households are 5 not able to receive this signal, would you support allowing 6 cable and satellite operators to provide distant HDTV 7 signals in the same way as they provide distant analog 8 service? Thank you. 9 CHAIRMAN POWELL: We'll try to get someone to help 10 answer your question. 11 MS. FOX: Hi. I'm Susan Fox; I'm from Charlotte. 12 And as so many other people have said and Ms. Merritt too, 13 talking about the huge corporations that are eating up all 14 the media in local areas and how destructive this is because 15 all they care about is their bottom line. And that's fine, 16 but the public airwaves are a privilege and so therefore 17 it's a little bit different. 18 The FCC has a responsibility of making sure they 19 use that responsibly and not just take over the whole thing. 20 The deregulation, I know, started in the eighties, but it's 21 just gotten worse and worse and worse, and now it's coming 22 to the part that if it's allowed to continue, then we're all 23 going to lose, and please don't let that happen. Thank you. 24 MR. DELILY: Hello everyone. I am Jake DeLily 25 118 Broadcast Localism Hearing 119 (phonetic), a COO of an independent music outlet for the 1 Charlotte, North Carolina area. I just want to start off by 2 saying my father used to have a little saying when he said a 3 lie will travel all around the world, while the truth sits 4 at home putting its boots on. 5 And what you're hearing right now is a lie and I'm 6 going to say it in front of these people and the 7 representatives from the radio stations because I've been 8 here my whole life. I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina. 9 We've been hearing from people who are not affiliated with 10 me who were involved in the same struggle for years before I 11 even got -- I'm a graduate of North Carolina Central 12 University and I was in school during this time when other 13 people were trying to do what I'm trying to do now, and the 14 result is always the same. 15 I can call examples like Sunshine Edison, Anthony 16 Hamilton, Jealousy, and Horace Brown who are from Charlotte, 17 North Carolina who had to leave Charlotte to go to 18 California or New York or New Jersey to get their records 19 played. And that's a fact. 20 I can also tell you that's a fact that if you are 21 in the club or somewhere on the radio station, your music is 22 not going to get played unless you're going to pay somebody, 23 and that's a fact. And people may dispute that, but I can 24 give you facts and examples and people who can testify and 25 119 Broadcast Localism Hearing 120 witness to these truths. 1 So I'm not here to come and try to tell you about 2 my life because I don't want you to know where I'm from. 3 I'm here on the strength of the local artists. And I also 4 want to take a leadership step and say that along with 5 everybody else in here, that their fight is my fight because 6 we both want the goal of what's right. 7 So to Ms. Kwei and to Mrs. Avery, on behalf of the 8 urban artists, we just want what's right and that's it. 9 MR. QUINTEE: Thank you. My name is Anthony 10 Quintee (phonetic). I would like to thank everybody who put 11 this together. This is a beautiful opportunity for the 12 community to come out and vent, and that's a beautiful 13 gesture. 14 However, it's a tragedy that 100 percent of the 15 community is not being represented here tonight, and not 16 because of ignorance, not because of complacency, because of 17 lack of knowledge, lack of knowing about this. 18 I personally called three North Carolina radio 19 stations yesterday evening. Two of them told me they knew 20 nothing about this meeting; they knew nothing of the FCC 21 being in town this week. One of them informed me that, you 22 know what, they are in town, and they got a meeting at 7: 15 23 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Not here. 24 So yeah, there are lies; there's lies all over the 25 120 Broadcast Localism Hearing 121 place. I'm a starving artist; emphasis on starving. And 1 just like every other artist in here, I think I'm the 2 hottest thing that hit Charlotte since the Carolina 3 Panthers. But you know what? That's not for me to decide. 4 That's for the audience and the community to decide. 5 And they cannot decide if I do not have access of 6 a medium to go to somewhere where my music can be heard, 7 where I can be heard, you know. And for us being local 8 artists here in Charlotte, North Carolina, I mean, that's 9 the only avenue we have. Without radio, it's hard; it's 10 hard. You have to come out of the pocket a little bit. 11 And, you know, I'm sorry, you know, contrary to 12 popular belief, in 2003 in North Carolina, and I'm sorry to 13 burst your bubble, payola does exist. And it's very bad, 14 it's buried all over America, you know. That's really all I 15 have to say. Thank you for coming. 16 MS. BLAGEN: Mr. Chairman and Commissioners, my 17 name is Krista Blagen (phonetic); I'm with the Arts and 18 Science Council and thank you for this opportunity to speak. 19 Advancing arts and science and history is the driving force 20 of the Arts and Science Council, and the primary area of 21 implementing our work is through our annual fund drive, and 22 we are currently the number one united artist fund drive in 23 the country, raising over 10. 1 million to support cultural 24 education, 28 cultural affiliates, creative individuals and 25 121 Broadcast Localism Hearing 122 neighborhood local programming. 1 The Charlotte media have been very receptive to 2 the critical role that culture plays in the role of the 3 Charlotte- Mecklenburg community and enables the Arts and 4 Science Council to get the word out. We rely on those 5 relationships to help inform listeners and viewers about our 6 efforts to enhance the cultural community and the quality of 7 life. 8 Examples of support from TV and radio are covering 9 ASC events and projects on News 14, WSOC- TV, WBTV, WCCB, 10 WFAE, WPEG, WBAV and WDAV and a host of others. 11 We also receive in kind contributions and airtime 12 from various radio stations and TV stations for PSAs. And 13 also another critical thing is that media executives and 14 staff people, also may serve and understand the importance 15 of the cultural community by serving on the ASC board of 16 directors and also on our great panels. 17 We just want to thank the Charlotte media for 18 supporting the Arts and Science Council and understanding 19 the importance that art, science and history plays in the 20 role of enhancing our cultural community. Thank you. 21 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I just urge the speakers to be 22 very brief. We have a whole other panel waiting patiently 23 and I want to get these others done. 24 MS. ECHERVERRI: Good evening. Thank you for 25 122 Broadcast Localism Hearing 123 giving me the opportunity. My name is Olma Echerverri and I 1 am co- chair of the Hispanic Board Coalition. And I can 2 assure you that the chair and I prepared our statements 3 separately, so if I am repetitive. 4 I'm here to commend the efforts of WPG, Power 98, 5 in regards to voter registration and civic involvement, as 6 well as in helping to bring together the African- American 7 and Latino communities. 8 But there is room for improvement; there always 9 is. When the station was asked to give a public service 10 announcement about the immigrant worker freedom right, a 11 nationally recognized event, this request was denied because 12 it was so- called too political. Well, in the world around 13 us and in this community that is precisely what we need to 14 report, political and controversial issues. Nevertheless, 15 we continue to look forward to building bridges with WPG for 16 many years to come. 17 I also want to commend the local Hispanic radio 18 station, WNOW- 1030 AM. They provide a daily life line 19 between the limited English speaking population in the 20 community. We would like for them to remain independent 21 because we do not trust them any other way. Thank you. 22 MR. HUSS: Hi there. My name is Joe Huss, and I'm 23 just a concerned citizen. And I'm here to explain that TV, 24 what's going on with TV. I was never a big TV watcher and I 25 123 Broadcast Localism Hearing 124 didn't own a TV for many, many years. But I decided I was 1 being left out of the political process, watching debates on 2 TV, and also I like to find out the news on TV locally. 3 So I have a very valid interest in local news and 4 local control. But also I've noticed the commercials. The 5 commercials seem to be getting more and more of the program. 6 Now, that's fine to a point you change channels, but 7 children watch this stuff. 8 And, you know, there are studies that have been 9 done and noticed that these children, their attention span 10 goes to only how long the program is. We're kind of pre- 11 programming our children to have short attention spans. And 12 you can think of the consequences that's going to be further 13 down the road. 14 Another point I want to bring is that my 15 girlfriend has two young children and she has to be 16 concerned and I have to be concerned on where they go to 17 people's houses, neighbor's houses, because of what's on TV. 18 The sexual content, the language, I wouldn't want an eight- 19 year- old using a lot of the language they use on TV today. 20 And yet, it's right there, so we can't keep them from going 21 into their houses unless we know, you know, what kind of TV 22 they're watching. And I think that's a very important 23 consideration because we're not protecting our children. 24 Thank you. 25 124 Broadcast Localism Hearing 125 MR. CLEMENT: My name is Howard Clement. I'm 1 presently a member of the Durham City Council, having served 2 as mayor pro tem of the Durham, North Carolina City Council. 3 I'm in my 21st year as a member of the Durham City Council. 4 Since 1971 it's been my privilege to serve as a 5 member of the minority affairs advisory committee for WTVD, 6 the ABC affiliate in Durham, North Carolina. And since 1971 7 I want to commend WTVD for its efforts in bringing minority 8 interests to the forum using the television as a venue for 9 that possibility. 10 There's no doubt in my mind that television, and 11 especially WTVD, has had a great impact in our community 12 over the years because of its inclusion of minorities and 13 other interest groups into its television format. 14 During this period I also want to commend WTVD for 15 advocating the concerns and interest of the North Carolina 16 Food Bank. Over 400, 000 people, and I used to serve on the 17 board of the Food Bank, of the North Carolina Food Bank, 18 over 400, 000 people at risk for hunger and poverty are 19 served by the good work of WTVD and other media outlets. 20 Thank God for television; thank God for WTVD for 21 serving the public interest. As long as these mass media 22 outlets continue to serve the public interest and at the 23 local level, I think the interest of the free market and air 24 transmission of ideas will be served. 25 125 Broadcast Localism Hearing 126 And I want to thank the FCC for coming to this 1 part of North Carolina. I wish it could come to the mecca 2 of North Carolina to have this hearing. But the fact 3 remains you're here and we are grateful for this 4 opportunity. 5 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you very much and thank 6 you for the patience to get through everyone who wanted to 7 speak. We did chew heavily into the time. I would propose 8 that we take just a two minute break; some of us must take a 9 two minute break, and we'll start again sharp. 10 I propose that we start no later than 8: 30 and 11 give the panelists who have waited patiently an opportunity 12 to finish, and hopefully we'll be done by 8: 50, 8: 55 and 13 that will give us plenty of time. Thank you very much and 14 we'll take a quick break. 15 (Short recess.) 16 CHAIRMAN POWELL: If we could get started, please. 17 We'd like to start our second panel, and because we did eat 18 through a lot of time, there are people who need to catch 19 flights this evening. So we want to get through it, and 20 just to announce to the audience, there will be some FCC 21 staff, and I think my colleague, Commissioner Copps, is 22 going to stay, will be staying the night and will answer 23 further questions, so you will have another opportunity to 24 speak. 25 126 Broadcast Localism Hearing 127 So with that I have the pleasure of starting the 1 second panel with Ms. Terri Avery and I just ask you begin, 2 please. 3 MS. AVERY: Good evening. I'm Terri Avery, I've 4 been in the radio business for the last 25 years working in 5 several of the nation's major markets and now in Charlotte 6 with three stations here owned by Infinity Broadcasting, a 7 division of Viacom. 8 As operations manager and program director, I'm 9 responsible for everything you hear on WPEG, WBAV and WGIV. 10 I have the final say over the programming, the music, the 11 on- air talent, the station imaging, and the commercial 12 production. But I take input from the music director, the 13 marketing director, the production director, the news and 14 public affairs directors and the on- air personalities at 15 each station. It truly takes a team effort to make our 16 stations sound great. 17 Our ratings just came in and the people of 18 Charlotte voted WPEG number one and WBAV number four in the 19 Charlotte- Mecklenburg area. And I have to tell you, if it 20 hadn't been for our communities, our African- American 21 communities, this would not happened. 22 I don't have a big budget to spend on promotions, 23 so everything we do is because we super- serve our 24 communities. And let there be no mistake, our number one 25 127 Broadcast Localism Hearing 128 goal is to serve Charlotte. Here are some specifics on how 1 we serve Charlotte and the surrounding communities. 2 WBAV is an urban music radio station and provides 3 live local, state and national news coverage each and every 4 weekday beginning at 5 A. M. on The Front Page with Beatrice 5 Thompson. Our hour- long program provides up- to- the- minute 6 coverage and news and information. And throughout the day 7 WBAV provides news updates. We also interrupt regular 8 programming for breaking news. 9 On Sundays we have Beatrice Thompson's Straight 10 Talk, a one- hour public affairs program featuring live 11 interviews and call- in opportunities for listeners on topics 12 ranging from healthcare to education. 13 WPEG is our mainstream urban- formatted music 14 station. Its programming addresses the needs of Charlotte 15 by dealing with topics such as racial issues, health and the 16 upcoming November elections and more. These issues are 17 tackled on Community Focus Live, a one- hour show hosted by 18 WPEG news director, Sheila Stewart, and airing on Sundays. 19 WPEG will interrupt regular programming to air 20 breaking news and emergency information as it did earlier 21 this year when the entire State of North Carolina suffered 22 through a horrible ice storm and thousands were without 23 power. We aired updates around the clock to let listeners 24 know where they could go for shelter and safety. 25 128 Broadcast Localism Hearing 129 Localism doesn't just mean that we air news and 1 public affairs. WPEG has a specialty one- hour program 2 called Future Flavas which showcases local talent and new 3 artists in the industry. Local artists featured on that 4 program have included Low Key, and Infinique, who 5 incidentally has signed a record deal with Rico Wade of the 6 Dungeon family in Atlanta. 7 Our on- air personalities are part of the community 8 also. Our own Breakfast Brothas Morning Show do a series of 9 block parties in low- income neighborhoods. Janine Davis, 10 who is part of the Breakfast Brothas Morning Show, and yes, 11 there is a lady in the Breakfast Brothas Morning Show, she's 12 active in Girl Talk Foundation, a nonprofit group that 13 reaches out to girls in schools and the seminars talk about 14 abstinence and building self- esteem and image. 15 All in all, in conclusion our stations would not 16 be where they are without our African- American Communities. 17 We do countless events in our communities on a daily basis. 18 Thank you. 19 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you very much. Next is 20 Mr. Jim Goodmon, president and CEO of Capitol Broadcasting. 21 Mr. Goodmon. 22 MR. GOODMON: Thank you. I want to -- don't start 23 the clock. A personal privilege here for thirty seconds. I 24 don't like rude. And I think the person who spoke, while he 25 129 Broadcast Localism Hearing 130 certainly did have his own opinion, was rude to Tift, and I 1 don't like that. 2 I don't know -- I can't find, maybe somebody else 3 can, anywhere in the Communications Act that it says that 4 we're -- that the goal for capitalism or free market is to 5 make all the money we can. I can't find it. The only thing 6 I can find is localism, competition and diversity. 7 And for somebody to say that his goal is to try to 8 keep the Viacom stations on the air, that's the funniest 9 thing I've ever heard. Those guys are doing fifty percent 10 profit margins and are doing just fine; they're the biggest 11 company. So I just had to respond to that and start the 12 clock. 13 (Applause.) 14 The questions -- your guys, Mr. Chairman, put 15 together some questions that we should think about for the 16 hearing, and I think they did a great job. They really did 17 a good job and I want to speak to one of those questions, 18 number six. 19 What if anything should the Commission do to 20 promote localism? Are existing market incentives sufficient 21 to ensure that broadcasters adequately meet the needs and 22 interests of their communities? 23 Well, in responding to that question I want to 24 talk about the two rulemakings that you all have before you. 25 130 Broadcast Localism Hearing 131 One is the quarterly reporting rulemaking and the other is 1 the minimum public interest standard. 2 And what we did with the Gore Commission, quickly 3 is everybody agreed -- everybody in this room agrees, 4 everybody that knows agrees, every broadcaster agrees that 5 broadcasters should serve the public interest. 6 The Commission, the Gore Commission in looking at 7 that, we all agreed that there should be standards, that 8 there should be minimum standards. I mean, how can you 9 operate without standards? Now, we couldn't agree on what 10 the standards should be, but we agreed that there should be 11 minimum public interest standards and we proposed some very 12 broad ones. 13 And I hope you all looked at that rulemaking 14 because I think just the adoption of some standards will get 15 us all thinking about it, and will really improve localism. 16 The second thing is the truth is that we all need 17 to sit down and talk about this, because we all know -- 18 everybody that -- I'm not suggesting that broadcasters serve 19 the public interest or don't serve it. I'm just saying that 20 there's no reporting systems that anybody knows. In 21 particular, the public doesn't know. 22 So that's why the Gore Commission proposed a new 23 quarterly reporting form that would give some more 24 information to the public about how the station is doing. I 25 131 Broadcast Localism Hearing 132 am -- you've never heard me say that and you won't, that I 1 think our stations are better than anybody's. I'm not 2 saying good, bad or indifferent. I'm saying the truth is we 3 don't know. 4 There's no system by which any data is collected 5 to set any sort of standards in terms of serving the public 6 interest. And I hope -- I've read these -- I've learned 7 some -- I've got some ideas for our stations today from this 8 hearing. I hope these hearings don't hold up those 9 rulemakings. 10 We've got to get the minimum public interest 11 standards done, we've got to get rulemaking done. And, Mr. 12 Chairman, I can't ask -- I could, but I can't ask you for 13 must carry if I'm not committed to serving the public 14 interest. That's why I get it and you won't tell me what it 15 is. 16 Now, that's an oversimplification, but do you see 17 what I mean? The whole idea is we're supposed to serve the 18 public interest. Tell us what the minimum standards are, 19 you got a rulemaking, tell us what reporting is, you got a 20 rulemaking, and we can really roll and really get into a 21 discussion about what all this is. 22 When you were on the Commission I did this, so 23 this Gore Commission was five years ago. But I think this 24 makes sense. Minimum standards -- you know, show me an 25 132 Broadcast Localism Hearing 133 industry without standards, and I'll show you an industry 1 without standards. I mean, I'm not saying that the 2 broadcasting industry is bad. I think there are great 3 broadcasters and I think they're doing a good job. 4 But we can't have this discussion in terms of 5 talking about how good we're doing if there's not some 6 reference point. I just really hope that we can get to 7 those two rulemakings soon. Thank you very much. 8 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Next we have Ms. Mary Klenz, Co- 9 president of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina. 10 Welcome. 11 MS. KLENZ: Welcome to Charlotte, Commissioners, 12 and Chairman Powell. I'm also the past president of the 13 Charlotte- Mecklenburg League of Women Voters, and I would 14 like to speak tonight to you about some of the concerns that 15 my organization have. 16 The League of Women Voters is very concerned with 17 the high cost of election campaigns, which is directly 18 related to the cost of TV advertising, and also concerned 19 with the decline in public affairs coverage and how these 20 factors relate to civic participation, like running for 21 office and voter turn out. 22 One billion dollars was spent on political TV 23 advertising in the 2002 election. That was 25 percent of 24 all the money spent in all the campaigns. Only 50 percent 25 133 Broadcast Localism Hearing 134 of eligible North Carolina voters turned out in the 2000 1 election. 2 Meaningful political coverage has declined over 3 the last thirty years. Citizens get a majority of their 4 news from TV and radio, and that main source of information 5 is available only through political ads. That really does 6 our democracy a disservice. It becomes a self- perpetuating 7 spiral downward. Less information, less voting, less 8 information. 9 It is unfair that broadcasters charge such high 10 prices for political ads the closer it gets to election day. 11 The airwaves belong to the public. They use them at no 12 charge with the understanding that they will serve the 13 public good. The League of Women Voters believes that they 14 are not living up to their part of the bargain. 15 Broadcasters have an abundance of talent and 16 creativity at their disposal. The weather is interesting, 17 commercials are effective in getting a message out, and they 18 make outstanding use of graphics, color and design. 19 Why can't all that talent be directed to 20 programming that informs the public on issues, voting, 21 elections and who is running for office? Let me cite a few 22 examples of how effective TV can be when it becomes involved 23 in these issues. 24 The League used to be invited to answer viewer 25 134 Broadcast Localism Hearing 135 questions on local TV stations during election time. I was 1 astonished at the number of calls we received; many times 2 over 200 calls within a two- hour period. Without exception 3 we couldn't begin to take all the calls. Regrettably that 4 practice was discontinued. 5 WTVI is our local PBS station and it is known for 6 its local programming. The League has partnered with them 7 on candidate debates for elections of city council, mayor, 8 county commission, school board and the three U. S. house 9 districts represented in our area. 10 I don't know of any other time when all local 11 candidates on the ballot in these local elections answered 12 questions before an area- wide TV audience. This is done 13 with volunteers working with WTVI and we continue to receive 14 positive feedback from both voters and candidates. 15 We are concerned that business concerns seem to 16 have overtaken -- seems to have taken precedence over the 17 public interest. You Commissioners have the job of figuring 18 out how to balance these concerns with the obligations that 19 broadcasters have to provide meaningful information to the 20 public about voting and elections. From everything lay 21 members report to us, they are not getting that now. Thank 22 you. 23 CHAIRMAN POWELL: Thank you. Mr. Rustin, the 24 Director of Government Relations, North Carolina Family 25 135 Broadcast Localism Hearing 136 Policy Council. 1 MR. RUSTIN: Thank you, Chairman Powell and 2 Commissioners for holding these hearings and for providing 3 the North Carolina Family Policy Council the opportunity to 4 participate. 5 The responsiveness of radio and television 6 broadcasters to the needs and interests of local communities 7 and to the standards that define these communities are of 8 critical importance to the issue of localism. 9 While families across North Carolina and the 10 nation have an ever- increasing number of radio and 11 television programming options, this growth in choice does 12 not necessarily translate into higher levels of local 13 consumer satisfaction. In fact, we are hearing more 14 concerns from both parents and children about the offensive 15 and indecent content that pervades much of television and 16 radio programming and advertising today. 17 The growth in competition for market share appears 18 to be driving many to continually push the envelope of 19 content and decency. The current trend toward so- called 20 reality shows is a prime example. Although these shows may 21 not rise to the level of indecency, they are designed to 22 cater to the base interest of the viewer. 23 In North Carolina we are fortunate to have the 24 leadership of individuals like Jim Goodmon, whose CBS and 25 136 Broadcast Localism Hearing 137 Fox affiliates preempted a number of these programs because 1 they demean marriage and family and run counter to local 2 community standards. If these stations were not locally 3 owned and operated, there is little doubt that these 4 programs would have been aired in the Raleigh- Durham area. 5 For this reason the North Carolina Family Policy 6 Council testified at an FCC field hearing on media 7 concentration in March in opposition to the proposed 8 increase in the national media ownership cap. We believe 9 that a station owner who resides in his or her own local 10 community is more likely to understand and respond to local 11 standards than someone making programming decisions from 12 hundreds or thousands of miles away. 13 Even communities fortunate enough to have some 14 responsive local broadcasters are still often overwhelmed by 15 indecent radio and television content. Consumers must have 16 a reliable system to address offensive and indecent 17 programming. 18 Because the viewing and listening public bears the 19 burden to prove the content and the context of reported 20 indecency, requiring local broadcasters to maintain and make 21 available several months of programming tapes or 22 transcripts, would aid citizens in their efforts to ensure 23 that community standards are being upheld. 24 In addition, consumers rely upon the FCC to ensure 25 137 Broadcast Localism Hearing 138 that broadcasters are truly serving the public interest. 1 Strict enforcement of indecency and obscenity laws and 2 regulations are critical. We thank the FCC, for example, 3 for its recent action regarding indecent content on the Opie 4 and Anthony Show. 5 However, more swift and consistent enforcement 6 action, including higher- level fines and the initiation of 7 license revocation hearings, especially for repeat 8 offenders, would instill a higher level of public 9 confidence. 10 Localism at its core requires the involvement of 11 the local citizens. Providing a system of local programming 12 that is respectful of community standards, as well as a 13 realistic and responsive enforcement mechanism for 14 addressing indecency violations, will encourage citizens to 15 become more involved in local broadcasting and will help to 16 ensure the quality programming we all desire. Thank you. 17 CHAIRMAN POWELL: And finally Mr. Michael Ward, 18 General Manager of WNCN- TV. 19 MR. WARD: Good evening, Mr. Chairman, 20 Commissioners, Ladies and Gentlemen, Representative Price 21 and Representative Watt. My name is Michael Ward. I'm the 22 general manager of WNCN- TV, the NBC owned and operated 23 television station in Raleigh, Durham. That's right; I'm 24 one of the big guys that everybody has spoken unfortunately 25 138 Broadcast Localism Hearing 139 about so badly about this evening. 1 I've spent more than a quarter century working in 2 television, starting out in my home state of South Dakota as 3 a photographer to my current position here as a key 4 decision- maker for NBC and its operation of its television 5 station in the Raleigh- Durham market. 6 Across that career I've worked many jobs at many 7 television stations and many different -- and for many 8 different kinds of owners, and I've learned one thing is 9 true about TV. Successful television stations, regardless 10 of who they're owned by, regardless of the money behind them 11 or the lack of money behind them, are successful for three 12 reasons: local involvement, local relevance and local 13 acceptance. 14 It doesn't matter where they go or whence they 15 came from. Without those three things embraced by the 16 television station, the station will die. 17 The recent ownership of our station is a good 18 example. Almost seven years ago WNCN was owned by a company 19 that provided paid programming, religious programming and 20 home shopping as it filled its air for its viewers. Since 21 NBC purchased the television station almost seven years ago 22 now, that low- cost cutting program strategy that did not 23 work has been replaced by a television station committed to 24 local relevance, local involvement and a gain of local 25 139 Broadcast Localism Hearing 140 acceptance. 1 A few of the things that we've done during that 2 time, of course, is add about sixty percent more local news 3 than was available before we came. We've added a half hour 4 public relations or public affairs shows. We've set a set 5 standard of public affairs announcements, public service 6 announcements on our air. 7 We've produced a number of programs for various 8 charitable and service organizations across the state. We 9 produce an annual show for the NAACP; we produce an annual 10 live ecumenical church service from downtown Raleigh on 11 Easter morning. We produce a weekly half hour local artist- 12 oriented music show featuring club artists in Chapel Hill, 13 Durham and Raleigh. 14 We broadcast countless specials, we provide 15 realtime closed captioning of every special news event that 16 we do, and most recently preempted prime time programming 17 for two live mayoral debates for the local mayoral race of 18 interest in our market. 19 We produce healthcare, blood drives, breast cancer 20 research drives and on and on and on. But perhaps most 21 importantly we require that every one of our department 22 heads and employees participates actively on a church board, 23 a local service board, charitable institution board, because 24 it's their personal conduit to our community that counts the 25 140 Broadcast Localism Hearing 141 most in the actions that we take. 1 What's happened because of this? We're doing a 2 lot better businesswise. And the reason I come to speak to 3 you tonight is to tell you that local service is good 4 business. It's practiced by most all, if not every single 5 broadcaster in the State of North Carolina associated with 6 the State's Broadcaster's Association, it's practiced by NBC 7 and its owned and operated television stations, both English 8 language and Spanish language. 9 Commissioners and Mr. Chairman, I'm proud to tell 10 you that the rules as they exist right now for the support 11 and development of localism work and we're a shining example 12 of the reason why. 13 Thank you for your time and I welcome your 14 questions. 15 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I'm going to tell you, the hour 16 has gotten late and we've cut into the questions because of 17 extending the open mike. I will present one and I think 18 we're going to wrap it up and let anyone who wants to speak 19 with Commissioner Copps of our staff, do so. I'm just going 20 to direct this to Mr. Goodmon. 21 I found it interesting I got an E- mail from a 22 member of this Charlotte community. He says he wants to 23 register a complaint, and I don't know if this is your 24 station, WBTV, Channel 3 Charlotte. 25 141 Broadcast Localism Hearing 142 This station is constantly preempting regular CBS 1 programming for local broadcasts such as St. Jude's. So far 2 this year they've preempted programming three times, then 3 they put the regular programming on at 2: 30 in the morning. 4 I hate this. 5 I'm missing the ACC basketball, which is like 6 religion here. 7 (Laughter.) 8 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I guess that raises a question 9 that preemption is an important part of local programming, 10 but the consumers also have a desire to see some of the 11 programming that comes from the national audience and is 12 important to them as well. 13 Can you tell us a little bit about the thought 14 process of when to preempt and when you represent the view 15 of the community and how you do that? 16 MR. GOODMON: We're not WBT. 17 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I didn't think so. 18 MR. GOODMON: I wish we were. 19 (Laughter.) 20 MR. GOODMON: No, I don't. But it's interesting; 21 in Raleigh we are a CBS affiliate and we have ACC basketball 22 and we're sort of in a duplicate situation. I haven't found 23 that -- I mean, our preemption pattern is such that the 24 community is used to it. That is, they know we're going to 25 142 Broadcast Localism Hearing 143 do ACC basketball. They're used to our preempting for 1 specials every now and then and they are also used to how we 2 handle it, which is we run it later at night. 3 Obviously there's some fans of a weekly show that 4 are disappointed when we preempt it for basketball, but I 5 really believe our preemptions are so predictable as WBT's 6 that it's not a problem. 7 Digital is going to help this a lot. For example, 8 we can run a couple of things. We can do basketball and CBS 9 on digital, and moving into digital is going to help us in a 10 lot of these areas. 11 COMMISSIONER COPPS: Can I ask a quick question on 12 preemption while we're on the subject, because this goes 13 more to community values and local values and I'm interested 14 -- 15 CHAIRMAN POWELL: I don't mean to cut you off, 16 Commissioner. I just want to -- I also have to catch a 17 plane regrettably, and I just wanted to let you finish your 18 question, but to take the opportunity to thank the people of 19 Charlotte. 20 I found this a useful and important and meaningful 21 hearing. I appreciate your patience, I appreciate your 22 commitment, and I really think it's been a very valuable 23 exercise. 24 On behalf of myself and the staff at the Federal 25 143 Broadcast Localism Hearing 144 Communications Commission, I applaud you and thank you for 1 your efforts and enjoyed your hospitality. Thank you very 2 much. 3 COMMISSIONER COPPS: I'm interested in kind of the 4 decision- making process. I know, Mr. Ward, you run an 5 owned- and- operated station. How many programs have you 6 preempted in the period of the last year because of your 7 feeling that perhaps they were contrary to the values and 8 sensibilities of your community? 9 MR. WARD: I have not preempted based on my 10 sensibilities of the community and its values. We've 11 preempted for news specials, we've preempted for local 12 events that we felt overrode the importance of what the 13 network offered or the other programming we had available. 14 COMMISSIONER COPPS: Let me ask Mr. Goodmon that. Have 15 you felt the need to overrule what the network fare was for 16 your community? 17 MR. GOODMON: Yeah, we -- yes, sir, and it had -- 18 yes; the answer is yes. I mean, we just decided rightly or 19 wrongly, just we decided that we're not going to make fun of 20 marriage. And we can't clean up television; there's all 21 kind of violent stuff all over television, and we just said 22 there's a line here and if people are going to meet each 23 other, then get married ten minutes later and fly off 24 together, and we're not going to do that. 25 144 Broadcast Localism Hearing 145 And we just did that and I appreciate people 1 thanking us, but I don't -- we're not right or wrong or 2 anything. It's just a decision that we made. I think, you 3 know, we have a problem that the network will not give us 4 the material ahead of time, so we have to go on what we hear 5 about the program, we talk to the network about it, what we 6 read about it in the press. Sometimes we can get a pre- 7 feed, but on reality programs we can't. So just on the 8 marriage thing we said no deal. 9 COMMISSIONER COPPS: Let me ask you a general 10 question, and if anybody else wants to comment on it perhaps 11 they could. 12 But kind of the message I take from this meeting 13 tonight is people in this community impart great value to 14 localism, and I think they're proud and congratulatory of 15 those broadcast outlets who are nurturing and nourishing 16 localism. And I take away an equally strong feeling that 17 people are, by and large, alarmed that there are serious 18 threats to localism. 19 And as we wind this hearing up, I'm just trying to 20 get clear in my own mind, how do you start to get at 21 something like this? Some say that, you know, we shouldn't 22 be talking too much about structural rules, maybe these 23 ownership rules. 24 But what I'm hearing in this audience is a lot of 25 145 Broadcast Localism Hearing 146 people are saying that structural rules and loosening the 1 ownership cap that the Commission voted may be pernicious to 2 the cause of localism. Others say that no, that's a 3 cumbersome way to go about spurring the public interest and 4 encouraging the public interest and that there are some 5 sorts of behavioral rules as a whole menu of those. 6 Is there some kind of silver bullet here or are we 7 looking at really a mix whereby we have to address -- if 8 you're going to talk intelligently about localism, we have 9 to address not just the behavioral rules, the licensing 10 renewal and all that, but also be cognizant of the lingering 11 effects of those structural decisions. 12 Let me ask Jim to start with that and anybody else 13 that wants to comment. 14 MR. GOODMON: Right. I think it's a mix. I mean, 15 we have multiple ownership and in many cases it's working 16 fine. I mean, what we're talking about is you all just 17 passed a rule that one company can own 370 television 18 stations. 19 COMMISSIONER COPPS: Don't say you all because I 20 wasn't a part of that. 21 (Laughter.) 22 MR. GOODMON: I mean, I'll tell you, we've got a 23 great group of owners. The question is what is the -- how 24 far do we go with this. And I think most people think we've 25 146 Broadcast Localism Hearing 147 gone about far enough. 1 I would say that the single most important 2 determinant of how a station operates is who owns it. I 3 mean, it ought to be. Now, you can have all the rules you 4 want to about what your stations are supposed to do, but, 5 you know, the stations reflect the owner. 6 And the larger the owner gets by definition, just 7 by definition, the more the corporate welfare -- the larger 8 it gets, the more the corporate welfare drives the bottom 9 line, which means by definition there'll be less attention 10 to localism. By definition. I mean, that's just an 11 economic definition. 12 I don't think Jim -- I don't think the groups are 13 too big now. I think we've got a good -- I don't think 14 anybody's saying we should go back. I think all we're 15 talking about is how far we want to go. But I think there - 16 - the answer to your question is both; I think we should 17 have both. 18 COMMISSIONER COPPS: Does anyone else care to 19 comment? 20 MR. KEELOR: Well, I agree with Jim; I think the 21 ownership makes the difference. And again, speaking only 22 for our company and I'll give a personal opinion here that 23 some broadcasters would disagree with, but I don't think 24 there's -- every acquisition we've made in the last three 25 147 Broadcast Localism Hearing 148 years has been a private owner. 1 And we have immediately taken a profit loss in 2 that acquisition because of the cost of a benefits plan, 3 because of the way you wanted to outfit the station, and the 4 way we wanted them to serve the community. 5 But we took that step back knowing when we made 6 those investments, three to five years from now we would be 7 ahead of the game and we were willing to do it. Clearly not 8 a lot of companies can do that. We're in an unusual 9 position. 10 But the statement that I would make is that I 11 think I would be willing to accept additional public defined 12 interest standards if I were allowed to own two television 13 stations in the same market. And I know Commissioner Copps 14 does not favor that position, but let me tell you folks, a 15 lot of these complaints about radio, half the radio stations 16 mentioned wouldn't be on the air today had consolidation not 17 happened, and radio business was out of the business in a 18 period, dead air. Consolidation saved it. 19 Now, some of the things you've heard we don't 20 like; I agree with that. The point is in some television 21 markets that's going to happen if we don't allow 22 consolidation. We need to allow consolidation; it needs to 23 be with the right owners who are willing to make the right 24 commitments. 25 148 Broadcast Localism Hearing 149 But I have to tell you, I can wake up tomorrow 1 morning and in Columbia, South Carolina where we have had 2 the number one station for fifty years, and I'm really proud 3 of what they do, we are being penalized because under the 4 new rules, the newspaper can buy up a second television 5 station in the market tomorrow morning, the cable system can 6 buy up a third, the radio group in there can buy the fourth, 7 and because I'm the leading station, I can't buy anything. 8 Show me the balance and the fairness and the 9 equity of that. That we have now been penalized under the 10 rules for being the number one station and serving our 11 community. That cannot stand and that's why we're 12 supporting the court action against it. 13 But I would support public interest standards of a 14 defined basis in order to do -- into the middle and small 15 sized markets. That's my position, not maybe my company's 16 position. It certainly isn't probably any of these 17 positions or anybody else's. 18 But I agree with Jim; ownership makes all the 19 difference in the world. And one of the toughest things 20 that's happened is when the FCC changed the rules that 21 allowed the financial players to get into the business, and 22 in three years turn them around and cut them to pieces, then 23 sell them again to somebody else. And there's a whole wave 24 of money out there waiting to do the same damn thing because 25 149 Broadcast Localism Hearing 150 they've called us. 1 So, I mean, if I were to ask the Commission do 2 anything, it's to look at the responsibility of what an 3 owner has to do, what he has to do to invest in a station, 4 and how long he has to keep it. 5 COMMISSIONER COPPS: And I think that point about 6 public interest standards and DT broadcasters are so 7 integral. And to his credit, the Chairman has done a 8 masterful job in trying to encourage the digital television 9 transition, and getting the mechanics of that straightened 10 away and commitments from the broadcasters and cable and 11 everybody. 12 But here is this gaping hole that you've talked 13 about, the central overriding question, how is the ability 14 to multicast going to be used to benefit the public 15 interest; and we have not done justice to that. I think we 16 are going to get it teed up, I hope we can get it teed up 17 because there's nothing more important we have do. 18 I am certainly willing to stay around here and 19 perhaps some of the panelists are too, but I know some of us 20 have to get home and they have commitments. 21 On behalf of Chairman Powell and Commissioner 22 Adelstein and myself, I want to thank everybody who has been 23 a part of this hearing and the panel. This has been very 24 helpful I think to the Commission and we look forward to 25 150 Broadcast Localism Hearing 151 doing other hearings around the country. 1 So thank you, Charlotte, and thank you, North 2 Carolina, for helping us. 3 (WHEREUPON, the hearing was concluded at 9: 04 P. 4 M.) 5 * * * * * * * * 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 151 Broadcast Localism Hearing 152 1 2 3 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA ) ) C E R T I F I C A T E COUNTY OF MECKLENBURG ) I, JoAnn M. Harris, Official Court Reporter, do hereby certify that the aforesaid proceeding was taken and transcribed by me, and that the foregoing one hundred- fifty (150) pages constitute a verbatim transcription of the testimony of the foregoing proceeding. I do further certify that the persons were present as stated. I do further certify that I am not of counsel for or in the employment of any of the parties to this action, nor do I have any interest in the result thereof. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name, this 7th day of November, 2003. JoAnn M. Harris Official Court Reporter 152 Formatted: Indent: Left: 0", Right: 0" 153