Copps Calls Modern Media a ''Vast Wasteland''

RADIO ONLINE | , , | :am CT

Speaking at the FCC's Future of Media Workshop on Thursday, Commissioner Michael Copps said that today's media resembles the "vast wasteland that Newton Minow had predicted as early as 1961." Pointing at consolidation of the broadcast industries, he says the Telecom Act set in motion a "media free-fall" that saw stations gobbled up en masse.

Copps said that when he took office, he found out "that for most of the past 30 years, we had really dropped the ball. And I use 'we' to include both the private and public sectors." "Three decades of horrendous decisions" by regulators for "outright elimination of just about every public interest obligation or public interest guideline we had."

"Some say there are more outlets now than ever, but in terms of the real localism and diversity that more outlets should have produced, we ended up with a "wasted vastland" as someone once called it. A lot of broadcasters, I think, weren't thrilled and many wanted to keep their emphasis on serving their local communities, but it became harder and harder -- almost impossible -- for them to do so. 'Play the game or get voted off the island' became the mantra of this dangerous game of Media Survival."

He continued, "So it's no great wonder that things went sour. The market kept saying 'more profit, more profit.' So if you're making 15% this year, you have to do 20% next year. If you make 20% next year, you'll need 25% or 35% the following year -- or you're bought off your island put onto Big Media's consolidated mainland. The result Newsrooms decimated (those more than 30% ABC News jobs cut last week being only the most recent example).

Copps did say "there's some good news." And that good news is the FCC's ability "to bring the public interest back." "Change is in the air," he said. "And my belief is that, if we all do our work, the days of dismantling public interest protections and walking away from our statutory mandates" are over.