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Media Reform
The health of our democracy rests upon the foundation of a free and independent press.
Without these values, the public's access to the information that people need to govern themselves is at risk. That puts democracy at risk.
Unfortunately, in recent years, our sources of information have come under increasing pressures from administration officials wishing to block information and from media owners who are willing to subvert media independence to serve corporate interests.
Regulation is a key tool in ensuring that media serves the interests of our democracy. Industry-funded studies and the predictions of all the great benefits of new technology as an argument for less regulation are as bogus today as they were nearly a decade ago. Consumers face increasingly higher prices, more concentration, and less diversity.
As president of Common Cause, I promoted the Bill of Media Rights, to which one hundred sixteen groups from across the country, representing 20 million individuals, signed on. The Bill of Media Rights provides a vision of a mass media that truly serves the public, not corporations.
In Congress, I will engage my fellow representatives and my constituents to promote media policy for the 21st century that truly provides diversity of viewpoints and ownership, competition, and innovation and that ensures our access to a free and unfettered marketplace of ideas. I will fight to keep the Internet free of gatekeepers, I will advocate for adequate funding of our public broadcasting system, and I will insist that Congress provide oversight of the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that they make decisions in the best interest of the people and the country.
Chellie on Media Reform
Chellie's Statement on Media Reform
Campaign Journal blogposts mentioning media reform
Video clips
Press clips
Common Cause reports and statements on media reform
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Campaign Journal blogposts mentioning media reform
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Video clips
Clip from Robert Greenwald's 2004 documentary "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's war on journalism":
Chellie appeared with Tom Morello (formerly of Rage Against the Machine) on Scarborough Country in 2003 to talk about the Tell Us the Truth Tour, a concert tour organized by Billy Bragg and other musiciians and sponsored by Common Cause and groups fighting media consolidation.
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Chellie on the record regarding Media Reform
Statement of Common Cause President Chellie Pingree on New Yorker PBS Story
June 1, 2004 - Commondreams.org
Consumer groups oppose changes to FCC rule
October 20, 2006 - Portland Press Herald
Mainers could lose local reporting at their newspapers and television stations if the Federal Communications Commission allows mergers in the same towns, a coalition of consumer groups warned Thursday.
Telecom, remystified
June 13, 2006 - US News.com, America's Business
Quick: Name a consumer offering, besides gasoline, that has been getting more expensive, not less. It's not food or clothing or electronics or anything sold at Wal-Mart. But take a look at your cable TV bill. Odds are high that the channels you subscribe to cost considerably more than five or 10 years ago. In fact, the price of cable has risen by nearly 70 percent over the past 10 years, nearly twice the rate of inflation.
Keep Internet free, fast
By Chellie Pingree
May 9, 2006 - Miami Herald
Imagine you're a voter searching the Internet for information about an upcoming election. You go to the candidates' websites, but the videos of their speeches and debates won't load. You log on to an advocacy site that had an interesting blog and other interactive tools to help you learn about the candidates and issues last year -- but now it doesn't work properly either. You search for the day's campaign news, but your Internet service provider seems to be steering you to download episodes of Commander in Chief and buy a DVD of The American President.
Regulating the Web
By Chellie Pingree
March 21, 2006 - Washington Post
The March 13 editorial "The Eden Illusion" said that Internet service providers should be able to create tiers on the Internet because Web surfers already gravitate toward sites they know and trust. However, a tiered structure would discriminate against upstarts and innovators and destroy the democratic nature that has made the Internet thrive.
Congress Must Guarantee 'Net Neutrality' Now
February 9, 2006 - The Clarion-Ledger
Third District U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering has a key role to play in the House next month. He is one of a handful of House members attempting to forge a bipartisan deal on legislation rewriting the Telecommunications Act of 1996. (article no longer available online)
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Chellie's Common Cause reports and statements:
Two reports bolster argument that media consolidation hurts the public
October 25, 2006
Why are cable television prices so high? Report shows $100 million spent by cable giants may be part of answer
October 11, 2006
Who Is Warren Bell?
Sept. 16, 2006
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