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Overview Media Advocacy / Education
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
About the Commission
The Church and
Media: About the National Council of Churches USA
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The NCC has adopted several policy statements related to media education and advocacy, under the general title The Church and Media: An NCC Policy Guide. These statements form a basis for actions by the Communication Commission to address key issues like the following examples: Broadcast Ownership Rules Legal Challenge The Communication Commission joined with hundreds of other organizations in 2003-04 to protest the FCC's attempts to accelerate the consolidation of America's mass media industry , particularly the relaxation of limits on corporate ownership of multiple radio and TV affiliates. Its court challenge to the rules (in a suit brought jointly with the Media Access Project and the Prometheus Radio Project) was supported by a federal court order on September 3, delaying the implementation of the new, more permissive rules. On June 28, 2004, in a lengthy decision of more than 200 pages, the court agreed with the NCC's position, and struck down the FCC's new policies, saying they were not justified in terms of law or policy, and did not serve the public interest. The judges mandated a new FCC decision that will preserve and protect diversity and localism in the media. The case was argued on behalf of the NCC and its partner plaintiffs by prominent telecommunications attorney Andrew Jay Schwarzman. Endorsement of Bill of Media Rights Support for Media Reform Efforts The Communication Commission frequently collaborates with other concerned organizations to press for mass media reform in the United States. For example, the Commission held its spring 2008 meeting in Minneapolis in conjunction with the National Conference for Media Reform, coordinated by FreePress and a variety of other nonprofit groups concerned about the rapid consolidation of local media outlets by major corporations. During the NCMR, the Commission co-sponsored two workshops on media access for faith groups. International Communication Rights Initiatives A number of Communication Commission members, including the NCC's Senior Program Director for Justice, Advocacy and Communication Pat Pattillo, are active in the work of the World Association for Christian Communication. WACC has a vigorous emphasis on education and advocacy around communication rights in developing nations, where traditions of press freedom, media enterprise and religious access to media are not common. Through septennial international gatherings (the most recent is the October 2008 WACC Congress in Cape Town, South Africa) and WACC's Center for Communication Rights, abuses are documented and opportunities pursued, often with the consultation and participation of NCC Communication Commission members. Low Power FM and TV Spectrum Allocation The Commission has taken positions since the late 1990's promoting the allocation of low-power frequencies to improve access to media distribution by minorities and other underrepresented groups in broadcasting. The FCC's new "localism initiative" will mean renewed interest in this topic in the coming year. In Fall 2004, the NCC Commission sponsored an hour-long television documentary, entitled "LPFM: The People's Voice," as part of the NBC TV network's Horizons of the Spirit series. The program, produced for NCC by the United Church of Christ and carried by many NBC affiliates nationwide, presented the case for low-power community radio. Fair Practices in Middle East Reporting The Commission co-sponsored, with the World Association of Christian Communication, the development of a journalists' code of fair practices in the coverage of Israeli-Palestinian issues, drafted in April 2002 and presented in a day-long seminar in New York City in conjunction with the Communication Commission meetings. Times Square Billboard Censorship The Commission criticized Reuters Corporation in Fall 2003 for its policy of refusing to sell space on its Times Square (NYC) billboard to religious organizations, specifically a Thanksgiving message from the United Methodist Church, an NCC member communion. In response to this and other protests from the public, Reuters subsequently changed its policy. Click here to read the Commission's statement. WorldCom/MCI Fraud Case The Commission in mid-2003 joined with groups raising concerns about the failure of the SEC and FCC to respond with legal penalties appropriate to the scale of the WorldCom-MCI fraud case, which destabilized the industry, robbed shareholders of billions in equity, and cost tens of thousands of workers in other telecom companies their jobs because of WorldCom's fraudulent competitive practices. Networks' Refusal of UCC 'All Are Welcome' Message In Fall 2004, the United Church of Christ (an NCC member communion) began airing a new series of television messages on cable and broadcast channels. One of the spots -- with the theme "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we" -- was refused by CBS and NBC executives as "too controversial" because the spot showed guards at the door of a church turning away a variety of minority persons, including two who were apparently a gay couple, though not identified as such. The Commission issued a statement opposing the networks' ban as "arbitrary" and counter to the American principles of freedom of speech and equal access to media channels -- the nation's "virtual public square." A number of faith-based communicators added their names to the Commission's message. Click here to read the statement and the list of signers.
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