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When it comes to media consolidation, the Federal Communications Commission is feeling the heat from all sides. Today activists took to the streets outside the FCC headquarters to deliver more than 200,000 signatures from people all over the U.S. who are calling on the agency to halt its rush to gut media ownership protections.
The FCC has been trying to push through these bad rule changes as quietly as possible and the mainstream media — which doesn’t like to report on itself — has gone along for the ride.
So today we took matters into our own hands. We printed out hundreds of our own broadsheet newspaper —the Free Press — and distributed them to passersby, highlighting opposition to greater media consolidation from the courts, Congress, civil rights leaders and President Barack Obama. Get your own copy here.
Free Press and CREDO Action collected the 200,000 signatures in under a month’s time. This is the greatest number of signatures on media ownership submitted to the agency in recent years.
“Here’s a news flash for the FCC: The public hates the idea of more media consolidation,” said Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron.
Free Press plans to sue the FCC if it ignores the public and moves ahead with its rule changes. Free Press and our allies have sued the FCC twice before and won both times.
Nearly 50 House members and 13 senators have also written letters warning the FCC that it must abandon its plan to relax media ownership rules. Most recently, Sen. Frank Lautenberg wrote a letter outlining how Rupert Murdoch’s local TV stations have ignored New Jersey communities. Indeed, as opposition grows, Murdoch’s News Corp. remains one of the few companies still pushing the FCC to lift the 30-year-old cross-ownership ban, which prevents a company from owning both a newspaper and TV stations in a single market.
“Chairman Genachowski should enforce the existing law, not push the other FCC commissioners to change the rules at Rupert Murdoch’s bidding,” said CREDO Political Director Becky Bond.
Responding to public pressure earlier this month, the FCC tried to kick the can down the road and delay its vote to the New Year. Today activists are making it clear that America won’t stand for more media consolidation and the FCC needs to back down altogether.
Tell the FCC: no more media consolidation.
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $150,000 in one-time donations and to add 1,500 new monthly donors.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
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