Consumers Union is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves.
TV & Radio
Putting the control of scarce broadcast properties into the hands of a just a few large companies can limit and skew access to information. We oppose media consolidation and support diverse broadcast ownership, greater competition, and new technologies that could bring TV and radio content directly to you from the web.
Blog Posts
- Church Does the Right Thing in Challenging Tribune’s TV Licenses
In a move that cuts to the heart of the current debate on media ownership, the United Church of Christ has formally challenged the license renewals of two television stations in Hartford, Conn, owned by the Tribune media conglomerate. Tribune is the poster child when it comes to domination of local media markets by a single company – and nowhere is that more on clear display than in Hartford.
- Like the Mafia, FCC Makes Univision an Offer it Couldn’t Refuse
The Federal Communications Commission took a page from “The Godfather” movies in getting Spanish language broadcasting behemoth Univision to quietly accept a $24 million fine for skirting requirements to air educational programming for children. The agency made Univision an offer it couldn’t refuse.
- Broadcaster Group Wants to Know Who’s Talking
This one comes from the “you have got to be kidding me” file. The National Association of Broadcasters has sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission requesting that viewers and listeners who speak at the agency’s public hearings on media ownership be required to disclose where they live. NAB says this disclosure is needed to “help ensure that the Commissioners hear from viewers and listeners who actually receive service from stations in the local markets where the hearings are being conducted.”
- New Study Shows Extent of Radio Consolidation
(A quick note about our absence the last few days. We were having some technical difficulties that prevented us from posting. We hope you missed us and we are glad to be back.)
A new study released today offers new evidence that the radio industry has become highly consolidated since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, concentrating ownership in the hands of fewer and fewer big media companies.
- Verizon Hikes Cable TV Rates While Touting Competition
For more than a year now, phone giant Verizon has been convincing state and local officials to let it sell cable television services in their communities using the argument that the new competition will improve service and drive down prices. So imagine our surprise when we learned that Verizon is planning to raise the rates on its FiOS television service in all those newly-competitive communities at the beginning of the year.
- Political Ads Outweigh Election News on Local Newscasts
In the month leading up to the 2006 mid-term elections, local television news viewers got considerably more information about campaigns from paid political advertisements than from news coverage, a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study shows.
- More Details on “Rural Satellite TV Consumers To Lose Network Programming”
Earlier this week we told you about a federal court case that could rob hundreds of thousands of rural satellite television consumers of their access to the big broadcast networks such as NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox. We’ve done a bit more digging on this story and have some new details and additional perspective.
- Rural Satellite TV Consumers To Lose Network Programming
Hundreds of thousands of rural satellite television consumers are about to lose their access to the big broadcast networks such as NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox because of a federal court case.
- NBC Cuts Are Bad News for Telemundo
Big media companies regularly brush aside charges that media consolidation homogenizes local news and public affairs coverage and shuts out minority voices. But even the slickest media mogul would have a hard time putting a positive spin on a cost-slashing plan recently unveiled by NBC Universal.
Tell Facebook to strengthen privacy!
Busy people can still keep up with one another, thanks to tools like Facebook. But managing relationships and managing privacy have always gone hand in hand. Companies like Facebook must create easy to use privacy tools so consumers know how to control who sees what.
Creator Mark Zuckerberg hopes investors will pay $100 billion for Facebook. While the IPO spotlight is on the company, act now to improve privacy. Take action now!
