Media Reform

In one year, 22 million Americans who rely on free over-the-air analog broadcasting – including many elderly and other vulnerable populations – will be at risk of losing access to TV, which for many is a primary source of news and emergency information as well as entertainment. On February 17, 2009, all TV stations will begin broadcasting exclusively in digital signals. If you have an older analog TV and you receive over-the-air television, your TV will go dark, unless you retrofit it with a digital converter box. Many consumers are just now hearing about the government-ordered digital transition and they are going to electronics retail stores to ask questions about what is necessary to maintain their TV reception. Our survey looks at the information consumers would receive at stores where most people would shop for a television.

A staff analysis produced by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in 2004 that showed that local ownership of television stations benefits the public was ordered destroyed by senior agency management, according to a story by Associated Press reporter John Dunbar. The report was written shortly after the FCC voted to relax media ownership rules in 2003, despite receiving over 3 million public comments in opposition to the plan. “First, the FCC ignored public support for local media. Then, the agency ignored its own research showing local media ownership is in the public interest. Now, the FCC has the opportunity to change course and reject the weakening of media ownership limits,” said Brad Ashwell, Florida PIRG's legislative advocate.