Certain things make me want to bang my head repeatedly onto my desk. The consolidation of radio ownership is one such thing, as we sit and watch radio stations become less and less localized. While those radio listeners who simply want to hear their favorite mind-numbing top 40 flavor of the week bullshit, the shift in radio over the past several years was most likely hardly noticeable. For those of us who truly enjoy (or at least enjoyed) quality radio from our own cities, it has been an absolute nightmare.
Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner will be speaking to Congress in an effort to once again show how destructive media consolidation can be. The “Future Of Radio” hearing will take place today, and if you are curious, you can watch a live webcast by clicking here.
Turner will be joined by Mac McCaughan of Merge Records; Tim Westergren, founder of the Internet radio service Pandora; Carol Pierson, president of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters; and Dana Davis Rehm of NPR. Once the hearing ends, Senator Byron Dorgan and Senator Trent Lott will be holding a press conference to discuss FCC Chairman Kervin Martin’s reported plans to relax media ownership rules before the end of the year.
If you’re interested, Turner’s full written testimony can be downloaded via PDF file by clicking here.
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