The FCC held a field hearing in Arizona on Monday concerning “Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age.” This staff-level report outlines recommendations for strengthening news and information-gathering to meet the needs of local communities. One of the report’s recommendations calls on the federal government to consider “targeting existing federal advertising spending to local news media.”
Media’s Problems, While Serious, Said Fixable
Following up on Thursday’s release of the FCC’s landmark study “The Information Needs of Communities,” FCC senior adviser Steven Waldman and Chairman Julius Genachowski say the goals of the report are attainable: making sure all Americans have access to the Internet, but that the journalistic content provides the kind of reporting, and therefore accountability, that truly serves communities.
