Media ownership. The Center for Public Integrity is a non-partisan group concerned with good journalism and the public interest. In this piece, the director of CPI, Charles Lewis, lays out the reasons why the proposed rule changes by the FCC will be harmful to news and the public. This is a threat the public and anyone who thinks news is vital in a democracy needs to be aware of.

The dirty little secret is that from 1996 through 1998, the NAB and five media outlets—ABC, CBS, A.H. Belo Corp., Meredith Corp., and Cox Enterprises—cumulatively spent nearly $11 million to defeat a dozen campaign finance bills mandating free air time for political candidates. One company lobbyist willing to talk to us was Jerry Hadenfeldt, who represents Meredith, owner of a dozen TV stations, 20 magazines, and publisher of more than 300 books. "Free political ads are basically picking the pockets of a select group, namely television broadcasters," he said. "They [candidates] already get the lowest available rates, and that's the way we believe it should stay."

The Center for Public Integrity