Actors’ Equity Association                                                                                    Patrick Quinn, President
               American Federation of Television and Radio Artists                                    John Connolly, President
               American Federation of Musicians                                                                     Thomas F. Lee, President
               Communications Workers of America                                                               Morton Bahr, President
               Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO                                         Paul E. Almeida, President
               International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (Broadcast Division)         Edwin D. Hill, President
               International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees                             Thomas C. Short, President
               National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, CWA      John S. Clark, President
               The Newspaper Guild, CWA                                                                                 Linda K. Foley, President
               Screen Actors Guild                                                                                                Melissa Gilbert, President
               Writers Guild of America, East                                                                              Herb Sargent, President

Media Advisory for Tuesday, July 20, 2004

For More Information:
Rebecca Rhine at AFTRA 415-713-8301(cell)

Members of Congress, Media Unions Call for
Full Public Hearings on FCC Media Ownership Rules

Unions to Release Poll of Media Professionals Citing Decline in Quality and
Diversity of News Coverage as a Result of Industry Consolidation

WHAT:     News Conference on Necessary Next Steps for
                  Fair Media Ownership Rules

WHO:        Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Diane Watson (D-Calif.) 
  
                   FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein
  
                   Presidents Linda Foley, The Newspaper Guild-CWA, and 
                   John Connolly, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists;
                   Executive Director Mona Mangan, Writers Guild of America, East, and
                   Dan Mahoney, assistant to the president, National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians

WHEN:     Tuesday, July 20, 1 pm

WHERE:  Room HC-9, U.S. Capitol

Washington, D.C. – Unions representing half a million media workers will join with Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and other leading members of Congress in calling for full public hearings as the Federal Communications Commission reconsiders its rules on media ownership.

Joining them at a Capitol Hill news conference will be FCC Commissioners Copps and Adelstein who support broad public access and hearings on the issue. Rep. Hinchey, along with Reps. Sanders, Inslee, Watson, and others have been leading the fight in Congress to overturn the new FCC rules that eliminated restrictions on media concentration.
 
Media unions will be asking FCC Chairman Michael Powell to “seek broad-based public input where the impact of such regulatory changes will be felt the most – local media markets.”

A survey of print and broadcast news professionals, commissioned by four media unions, also will be released, providing additional insight into the impact of continued media consolidation on news reporting and diversity of opinion.

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