The contemplated FCC action could result in the biggest special interest windfall, at the expense of American taxpayers, in history.

Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and Michael Calabrese, director of the Spectrum Policy Program at the New America Foundation, warn us of "another harmful move being contemplated by the [ FCC ] commission." Their article is a warning that the FCC plans to sell off our airwaves, "We're talking about privatizing the airwaves, a public resource worth hundreds of billions of dollars in both market value and future federal revenue." - from their article "Don't privatize our airwaves A FEW LUCKY INDUSTRIES WOULD REAP HUGE PROFITS" By Norman Ornstein and Michael Calabrese.

"These airwaves are owned by the public. For more than 75 years broadcasters, cellular phone companies and other commercial service providers have acquired exclusive access to scarce spectrum space only under temporary, renewable licenses; in return, they serve the public interest." They warn the FCC plan "confers a massive and undeserved financial windfall -- up to $500 billion -- on a few lucky industries."

FAQ

Is this like the public access on cable TV?

No. These new channels will be broadcast quality productions utilizing professional camera and sound people with technical expertise equal to that found on the major network TV. The public will use the services to reach their fellow Americans, the technical employees at the stations will enable them to do so.

Do the broadcasters now pay to use our airwaves?

No. The broadcast licenses are given to the TV and radio broadcasters for free on the condition that they serve the public interest.

The general public must compete on equal footing with powerful interests.

Another example of the relationship between Big Media and Big Government:
"... coverage of a different sort is taking place in the ABC "Government Affairs" suite, as the network apparently uses its plum position and its press passes to lobby lawmakers on the convention floor." Watching the watchers

The general public must compete on equal footing with powerful interests. We now have a historic opportunity, a powerful solution to the problem of giving citizens equal political power with major corporations. We now have a historic opportunity to secure our rights to equal political participation. We now have a historic opportunity to effectively use our political power, armed with information as easily found as we find commercials. We now have a historic opportunity to broadcast news and information selected by ourselves with maximum distribution of power presented through mass communication. We must establish a Fair Media to take advantage of this opportunity. If we allow all of our airwaves to be sold off we will have lost our chance since it will be next to impossible to pry those airwaves out of corporate hands after they grab them.

Historic Opportunity to Use Our Airwaves

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Historic Opportunity for Media Reform

Powerful special interests are lobbying our government right now in order to gain control of the new TV and radio channel capacity made possible by digital broadcasts. We must act now if we want to have a say in who will control the new channels. We have a historic opportunity to add a powerful check and balance on mainstream media, we must not let it slip away.