This Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m., the Center will be joining with Common Cause to hold a public discussion of the Federal Communication Commission’s media ownership rules and their impact on the media’s ability to meet the information needs of North Carolina communities. The FCC is currently reviewing its rules and is considering scrapping the radio/TV cross-ownership rules, loosening the newspaper/TV cross-ownership rules, and leaving in place the radio and TV local market ownership caps. These changes could have a profound influence on the media environment in North Carolina.
Former FCC Chair Michael Copps will introduce the topic and a panel of media and academic experts will discuss how the current FCC rules and proposed rule changes affect local accountability journalism. The panel will be moderated by Teresa Artis, former Vice President & General Counsel, Capitol Broadcasting Company, and will include the following speakers:
- Penny Abernathy, Knight Professor of Digital Media Economics, UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Michael Copps, former FCC Chair (and UNC Ph.D ’68)
- Jim Goodmon, President & CEO, Capitol Broadcasting Company
- Jane Mago, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, National Association of Broadcasters
- Bob Phillips, Executive Director, Common Cause North Carolina
- Orage Quarles III, President and Publisher, The News & Observer
The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place in UNC’s Wilson Library. If you can’t make it in person, you can watch the discussion streamed live here or follow along (and ask questions) via Twitter with the hashtag #FCCUNC. Please visit our event page for more information.
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