Media Advocacy Blog

We are fortunate in Cincinnati to have people representing us in Congress who understand the importance of Community Media.

Congressman Driehaus has just joined as one of the 13 (and growing) sponsors of HR3745, the Community Access Preservation (CAP) Act.  We want to thank Mr. Driehaus for his support of our community and community media.

Senator Brown has written two letters to the FCC asking them to expedite their ruling in the Petitions for Declaratory Ruling by the Alliance for Community Media and the cities in Michigan that are asking for relief from AT&T's "PEG Application."  A big thanks to Senator Brown as well!

Congresswoman Schmidt is still "holding off" her support of the CAP Act but as far as we are concerned that's not a "no".  Please make sure that if Ms. Schmidt is your congresswoman that you have let her know how you feel about community media and specifically the CAP Act.

We are still waiting to hear from Senator Voinovich on whether he will write the FCC asking them to expedite the petition ruling.  He needs to hear more from his constituents too so don't be shy, let him know what you think.

You can do all that by going to this link and using the fax tool to contact your congressman.

And two more congressional representatives have signed on to HR3745.

They are:

• Representative Neil Abercrombie [HI-1]

• Representative Maurice D. Hinchey [NY-22]

Media Bridges would like to thank both of these representatives for their support of PEG Access & Community Media.

We are going to follow up on our local office and see where they stand today, as well as with some Ohio members of the House committee and subcommittee.

We hope you will take this opportunity make your voice heard as well.  Just click this link and you can let your representatives know that you want them to support the CAP Act, HR3745, The Community Access Preservation Act.

HR 3745, the Community Access Preservation (CAP) Act, sponsored by Representative Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, just gained its 8th co-sponsor.

Here's the list:

• Representative Danny K. Davis [IL-7]
• Representative Luis V. Gutierrez [IL-4]
• Representative Michael M. Honda [CA-15]
• Representative John B. Larson [CT-1]
• Representative Janice D. Schakowsky [IL-9]
• Representative Fortney Pete Stark [CA-13]
• Representative Mike Thompson [CA-1]
• Representative Lloyd Doggett (TX-25)

We need to get some Ohio names up there.  Fax your reprentatives by clicking here so they know you care about community media.

We at Media Bridges wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to Senator Sherrod Brown.

One of the other initiatives that we and the Alliance for Community Media have been supporting are a couple of Petitions for Declaratory Ruling the currently sit before the FCC.  The petitions, if ruled favorably upon, would stop cable companies from "channel slamming" (moving PEG channels up to digital Siberia) and from offering inferior quality PEG on their systems.

Senator Brown wrote a letter to the Chair of the FCC letting them know of his support for PEG Access and asking the FCC to expedite the case.

THANK YOU Senator Brown!!!

I had the opportunity last week to visit the DC offices of the legislators that represent the areas covered by Media Bridges.  One thing became clear right away... your voice counts.  It is imperative that you contact them and let them know that you support community media. 

We've had great contact with them so far, with many faxes and phone calls, plus a few in-person visits.  We need more, more, more and more.

Contact them today by clicking here to send them a fax.  Do it today!

Preserve Community Access NOW

Media Bridges is calling on the supporters of public access: Click here to sign a letter going directly to your representatives in Washington, and let them know that community media is important to you. Ask them to support HR 3745  (the Community Access Preservation Act, or CAP) and work towards its rapid passage. To learn about CAP, read more here: CAP Bill Summary.

You can also read an article about CAP from Media Bridges Executive Director, Tom Bishop here.

Want to do more?

Download the CAPAction Toolkit and Volunteer to help

The toolkit has sample letters, campaign materials, talking points, CAP Act summary, and much more. It is free so download it today at www.alliancecm.org/CAPtoolkit. Sign up to volunteer to help by calling 202-393-2650 or email volunteer@alliancecm.org.

We thank you for your commitment to preserve the public’s right to be heard through community access. With your support, we will continue to provide a venue to make all Cincinnatian’s voices heard.

For more information on this important issue, visit the following websites:

www.saveaccess.org

www.alliancecm.org

www.ourchannels.org