NCMR08 2: FACT

First off is Richard Taylor, Penn State, who wrote on the transition of cable and other platforms to the broadband network. "Everybody gets fast Internet - that's where we'd like to end up."

Radi0ctive Gavin just sat down next to me, so I missed the denser points Richard made, but on PEG: channel slamming, loss of close captioning, Richard has worked out a long list of public service, continuity, do no harm policies for PEG.

I can see now that I wish they had produced a 3-5 pager collection of abstracts for each paper in progress, because these folks are going to have to present with speed and fury, and it's going to be difficult to absorb, analyze, blog, and/or respond to any of it.

Philip Napoli, Fordham, is covering media ownership. Guiding principles:

• Assessment of the media system not in relation to the past, but in relation to its contemporary potential
  
• The media ownership policy process should be as values-drive as it is an empirical process, with a focus on "First Amendment, democratic theory principles"
  
• The goal should be anti-protectionist for incumbent (I love this point)
• Number of channels is irrelevant. The focus should be on the distribution of resources for the production of content. Philip says this is a point the Mark Cooper has been making for some time. It's a well articulated response to the cant that says "but there are so many choices." We'll have to work on the language a little for mobilization purposes, but that's ok.
  
• The burden of proof should be equally distributed between the assessment of benefits and harms.
• Demands for rigorous data analysis must be accompanied and supported by rigorous data collection

Next Up, Len Baynes of St. John's University on the problems in media for minorities. Lack of coverage (Katrina and aftermath), lack of representation (central roles), Imus-level hate speech are the major.

On media ownership: it's clear that minority ownership has dropped. Recommendations:

• It's a little late for the FCC to just now be rolling out non-discrimination policies.
• Remedy the structural discrimination in access to capital, advertising. We can use race-based criteria to remedy these.
• Tax certificate program "was the most effective program the FCC had to" increase minority ownership before Congress killed it off. There are bills in Congress by Rush and Rangel that Len supports.
• Amend the indecency statute so that "racially abusive language would come within the purview of the statute."