In two filings today and yesterday, United Church of Christ, OC Inc. was pleased to address several important components of the Federal Communications Commission's proceedings considering media concentration limits.   Today, UCC OC Inc. joined The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights comments submitted in response to the Federal Communications Commission's release of the Critical Information Needs Research Design.  The comment praised the FCC for releasing the design and highlighted it as an important step to counter the substantial dearth of studies addressing the needs of underserved communities.  It noted that the FCC cannot proceed with its proposals  to change existing media ownership rules in the pending quadrennial review, explaining the current record is "flawed" because of "its lack of adequate data analyzing media concentration’s impact on people of color and women."  The letter described a number of refinements which would improve the research protocol.

 

Yesterday, UCC OC Inc. filed a detailed pleading analyzing  recent study by the Minority and Media Telecommunications Council, also in response to FCC request for comments.  The filing, written by Georgetown Law Center's Institute of Public Representation, concluded that the FCC "may not and should not" rely on the MMTC study in the ongoing media ownership and diversity proceedings.  Yesterday's filing described the study's flaws.  It explained that the study utilized only 14 interviews and lacked any transparency or description of the markets that were studied.  Further, while the study claimed that its results provided  no reasons to alter the FCC proposal to permit more consolidation, in fact 3 of the 14 interviewees did identify problems with the type of media consolidation in question -- joint ownership of TV stations and newspapers.  Finally, the study conflated a lack of evidence with proof that no harm exists--something that responsible research cannot do.

 

These filings are part of UCC OC Inc.'s on-going efforts to promote a diverse and accountable media.

Cheryl Leanza, the policy advisor of the United Church of Christ’s Office of Communications Inc., participated in a day-long Federal Communications Commission (FCC) workshop Wednesday, July 10 discussing the high cost of telephone service to persons in prison and the FCC’s current rule-making on Inmate Calling Services.  Read her testimony as prepared for delivery.  See the full video of the event. Ms. Leanza is featured from 26:00-31:00 minutes in the video.

 

OC Inc. has long been an advocate for reforming a system under which telephone companies that provide services to prison inmates are permitted to charge exorbitant rates to the families and friends of inmates. In some cases, companies compete for contracts with state prison systems by offering a portion of their revenues to the prison system itself.  

 

Under the leadership of interim FCC Chair Mignon Clyburn, the FCC has been taking a closer look at this issue. Rev. Geoffrey Black, president and general minister of the UCC, participated in a rally last November to help raise awareness of this issue. Read his remarks.  Visit our web page to learn more about this issue and get involved.  www.uccmediajustice.org/prisonphones 

 

We are collecting signatures from clergy and religious organizations to end predatory prison phone rates.

L to R: UCC OC Inc. Chair Earl Williams, Treasurer Sara Fitzgerald, Policy Advisor Cheryl Leanza

The United Church of Christ's Office of Communication, Inc. (UCC OC, Inc.) was proud to participate in the United Church of Christ’s biennial national gathering, General Synod, which was held in Long Beach, CA from June 28-Jul 1 this year.  We briefed several conferences about our work (the UCC’s regional bodies), and networked with our colleagues in justice.  We hosted a workshop which outlined our historic and cutting edge work in media justice and communications rights. 

Read the powerpoint slides from our workshop.

Handouts:

Fighting Hate Speech

UCC and Media Justice: Low Power FM Radio

Prison Phone Rates: A Moral Issue

Universal Service: A Matter of Economic Justice

2013 has been a busy period in the effort to end predatory prison phone rates.  After the Federal Communications Commission issued its proposal, UCC OC Inc. was pleased to join with its allies to file comments and reply comments at the Federal Communications Commission.

 

In addition, we were able to play a critical role a few weeks ago to get the attention of one of the worst prison phone companies -- Securus Technologies.  Securus has aggressively opposed any reform to prison phone rates at the F.C.C. and elsewhere.   In April, the United Church of Christ, OC Inc. was pleased to join with Public Knowledge, Free Press and Rainbow/PUSH to block the purchase of the telephone company Securus Technologies, Inc. by a hedge fund.  The groups jointly filed a petition at the Federal Communications Commission last night in response to a filing by Securus requesting FCC permission to complete the proposed transaction.  Public Knowledge, Free Press, UCC OC Inc. and Rainbow/PUSH released a joint statement.  Cheryl Leanza, policy advisor for UCC OC Inc., said, “Predatory prison phone rates are a moral issue for the faith community—these types of businesses should be stopped, not allowed to expand.  Companies that invest in these predatory businesses risk endangering their public reputation.”

 

The petition was supported by a declaration of United Church of Christ's Minister for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Rev. Sala Nolan-Gonzales, which laid out the strong interest the United Church of Christ has in this issue.  The F.C.C. ultimately dismissed our petition, but only once it had extracted a promise that the company cooperate more constructively in the F.C.C. proceeding considering predatory prison phone rates.  Also, Securus conceded it was blocking another company's service which was designed to help ameliorate high prison phone rates.

This month the Justice and Peace Action Network will feature an action alert in time for Father's Day to support the effort to reform prison phone rates around the country.

Attending the 2013 General Synod Conference in Long Beach, CA this year?

Come meet with OC Inc. at the United Church of Christ’s General Synod gathering at the Long Beach Convention Center this summer.

 

Leaders of the UCC’s media justice ministry are conducting a workshop, “The UCC and Media Justice: The Next 100 Years” at 2 p.m. Saturday June 29 in Room 201B of the convention center. We will be providing the latest information on key battles that are under way in the areas of media reform, media justice and media diversity, and how these issues impact so many other social justice concerns. We’ll be providing information on how you can support us, no matter where you live, and we also want to hear from you about the media issues that you care most about.  The workshop will also give us another wonderful opportunity to celebrate the legacy of our founder, Rev. Dr. Everett Parker, as he celebrates his 100th birthday this year.

Among the topics the workshop will cover are: 

• economic justice means access to new technologies and basic phone service for everyone and how these are threatened;
• how you can support the campaign to eliminate the predatory phone rates that are charged to prisoners and their families;
• fight hate speech against the LGBT and immigrant communities;
• how to create a media outlet for excluded voices through the one-time chance to apply for a community radio station in October 2013;
• media violence fast in September 2013 during the week of prayers for peace.

If you will be able to join us, we’d love to know in advance. If you won’t be able to attend the workshop, but would like to connect with us at General Synod, please let us know.   And if you are a member of the UCC and won’t be at General Synod, we’ll be glad to send you a post-Synod update.   Let us know how we can best connect!

Social justice is often about working with allies, spreading information, and bearing witness to stories that no one else hears. People of faith are known for our involvement in our communities--as a powerful force for justice, compassion and the common good.  And yet, all too often, the progressive faith community is not reflected in the media.   We now have a rare  opportunity to take charge and change the conversation.    Thanks to a recent legislative victory, nonprofits, schools, churches, and labor unions will soon have a one-time chance to apply for thousands of new FM community radio licenses nationwide. The deadline to apply for these free low-power FM radio licenses is October 2013.  We have much to do before then—both to assist community groups  that are already working to obtain radio licenses and to develop faith-oriented radio stations ourselves. To learn more, please join our webinar on May 22nd, 2013, at 4 pm eastern time.  Sign up now! Join this one-hour webinar co-sponsored by the Office of Communication, Inc., the United Church of Christ’s  media justice ministry, Faith in Public Life, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Prometheus Radio project.  Learn more about this rare opportunity to diversify our airwaves. The event will feature: Jennifer Butler, CEO, Faith in Public Life Cheryl Leanza, UCC OC Inc.'s policy advisor Jeff Rousset from Prometheus Radio Project Three people using radio from the faith perspective:  Doug Pagitt, author, founder Solomon’s Porch, a holistic missional Christian community in Minneapolis, MN and host of a weekly radio show Roger Parmenter, Founder, 89.1 FM, KHOI-FM, Ames, IA Greg Kintz, General Manager, Radio Baha'i, 90.9 FM, WLGI-FM, Hemingway, SC

In response to the widely-reported impending announcement of Tom Wheeler as nominee to lead the Federal Communications Commission and Mignon Clyburn to lead the agency until Mr. Wheeler is confirmed, the United Church of Christ's media justice ministry made the following statement:

 

"I congratulate Chairman Clyburn on her historic appointment as the first woman chair of the Federal Communications Commission.  She is the ideal person to safeguard the interests of the public at this time of transition," said Earl Williams, Chair of the United Church of Christ, Office of Communication, Inc.

 

Cheryl Leanza, UCC OC Inc.'s policy advisor stated, "We are eager for Mr. Wheeler to rapidly learn more about civil rights and media justice very early in his tenure.  We will be looking carefully at his key staff appointments with the expectation that he will select people with an in-depth understanding of the information needs of all communities to complement Mr. Wheeler's private sector resume."

 

We expect to work closely with Mr. Wheeler on the priorities of the public interest and civil rights communities, including diverse ownership of media and technology companies, universal and affordable high speed broadband Internet access, open Internet, and a rapid end to predatory prison phone rates. 

Today members of the House of Representatives held a hearing to consider the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program, which provides a financial subsidy to low-income people to help them afford telephone service.  The United Church of Christ's media justice ministry, OC Inc., was pleased to collaborate with its civil rights and other allies in supporting this program, including the excellent testimony by UCC OC Inc.'s close ally, the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

 

Since 1934, the United States has recognized the importance of ensuring that all people can communicate with each other through a policy of "universal service."   For almost 30 years, federal communications policy has set funds aside to ensure that people would be connected to the telephone network even if their financial circumstances or remote location might otherwise prevent them from doing so.   And in 1996, universal service was expanded by Congress to also assist schools and libraries and rural health care providers. 

 

The low-income Lifeline program has recently come under attack, not for the important work that it does, but because a few bad actors have taken advantage of a program targeting the lowest income Americans and used it for their own gain.  The attacks are all more upsetting because this program is not in need of curtailment -- rather it is in need of updating so that it can support the use of new technologies, such as high speed broadband Internet, rather than simple voice telephone service.

 

While voice phone service is a minimum service necessary for everything from reaching 9-1-1 to getting a job, the truth is that Americans who  can afford it are rapidly moving to broadband Internet for most of their communications needs.  For example, the Wall Street Journal recently ran a story describing high school students who routinely study and do their homework at McDonald's, which offers Internet access, because those students' families cannot afford to subscribe at home.  Unfortunately, the advent of high speed broadband is making the "digital divide" worse, as the least connected fall farther behind.

 

Fortunately, Rep. Doris Matsui, joined by Rep. Henry Waxman and Rep. Anna Eshoo, have introduced a bill that would ensure the Lifeline program is not only well-run, but that it aids the people who most need it.  The proposed Broadband Adoption Act would go a long way toward ensuring that our nation remains competitive and fair.   Broadband Internet important to ensure that people who seek to find a way out of poverty have the means to do so--through education, job searches, and access to benefits programs which offer support in a time of need.   Universal access to broadband Internet is not only important to the individuals who need it, but also to our whole country--we cannot succeed in the world economy if we fail to utilizing the skills and talents of a significant proportion of our people.

 

Since 1997, the United Church of Christ has formally recognized we risk becoming a society of "information rich" and "information poor" -- with dramatic consequences for exacerbating inequities that already exist in our midst.   Communications is a human right -- a tool that connects us to our communities, helps to disclose injustice, and facilitate innumerable aspects of modern life. 

 

As such, we wholeheartedly express our support for the Lifeline program as it stands now, and for legislative proposals to ensure that it keeps pace with technological change by supporting high speed broadband Internet. 

The United Church of Christ, OC Inc. was pleased to join with Public Knowledge, Free Press and Rainbow/PUSH to block the purchase of the telephone company Securus Technologies, Inc. by the Hedge Fund ABRY Partners.  Securus provides phone services to prisons, and its business model relies on charging predatory rates to the families of prisoners, who have no choice but to pay high prices or forgo speaking to their loved ones.  The groups jointly filed a petition at the Federal Communications Commission last night in response to a filing by Securus requesting FCC permission to complete the proposed transaction.  Public Knowledge, Free Press, UCC OC Inc. and Rainbow/PUSH released a joint statement.  Cheryl Leanza, policy advisor for UCC OC Inc., said, “Predatory prison phone rates are a moral issue for the faith community—these types of businesses should be stopped, not allowed to expand.  Companies that invest in these predatory businesses risk endangering their public reputation.”

 

To learn more about predatory prison phone rates and UCC OC Inc.’s efforts to eliminate them, go to www.uccmediajustice.org/prisonphones

For immediate release

April 11, 2013

 

31st ANNUAL EVERETT C. PARKER LECTURE TO HONOR THREE MEDIA JUSTICE ADVOCATES

 

The United Church of Christ’s historic media justice ministry, the Office of Communication, Inc., today announced the three media justice advocates who will be recognized this fall at the 31st Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Awards Ceremony:

 

• The 2013 Parker Lecture will be delivered by Hilary O. Shelton, Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Policy Director NAACP Washington Bureau. 

 

• Albert H. Kramer, founder of the Citizens Communications Center, will receive the Everett C. Parker Award, recognizing an individual whose work embodies the principles and values of the public interest in telecommunications.

 

• Malkia Amala Cyril, founder and executive director of the Center for Media Justice, will receive the Donald H. McGannon Award, given in recognition of special contributions in advancing the roles of women and persons of color in the media and in the media reform movement. 

 

The 2013 Parker Lecture and Breakfast will be held at 8 a.m. on Wednesday October 1 at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 945 G Street NW, Washington, DC.

 

Hilary O. Shelton brings a depth of experience and insight that should continue the Parker Lecture’s long history of inspirational and thought-provoking speakers.  In his current position, Shelton is responsible for advancing the federal policy agenda of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. He has been an outspoken advocate for diversity in the media and importance of communications policy with respect to vindicating civil rights.  He has been instrumental in the passage of such key pieces of legislation as The Civil Rights Act of 1991, The Civil Rights Restoration Act, The Violence Against Women Act, The Hate Crimes Statistics Act, The Native American Free Exercise of Religion Act, The National Voter Registration Act, The National Assault Weapons Ban, Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act. 

 

Prior to joining the NAACP, he served with The College Fund/UNCF, also known as The United Negro College Fund, and the United Methodist Church’s social justice advocacy agency, The General Board of Church & Society.  He is a member of People’s Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington.

 

Albert H. Kramer has been a tireless advocate for the public interest in telecommunications since he left a large law firm in 1969 to found the Citizens’ Communications Center, playing a major role in OC Inc.’s own historic work during that era. The Media Access Project was “incubated” at the center during Kramer’s tenure, and he went on to spend 20 years on MAP’s board of directors, 15 of them as chairman. He served as director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection during the Carter administration, one of the agency’s most activist periods. During this time, the agency addressed a wide range of consumer issues, including used car sales, truth-in-lending laws, fair credit regulations, abusive funeral home practices and, for the first time, unfair advertising targeted at children. He also served as the founding chairperson of the Communications Consortium Media Center, and served there as a board member for more than 20 years. 

 

As a lawyer once again engaged in private practice, Kramer was a leader in firmly establishing the rights of private users and competitors to connect to what was then the monopoly telephone network and ensuring the right to nondiscriminatory treatment. In the wake of the divestiture of AT&T, his work on behalf of equipment manufacturers and other technology companies helped lead to an explosion of innovation on the edge of the network. He has continued to play key roles in advocating for the public interest in proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and during the months leading up to the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

 

For the past 15 years, Malkia Amala Cyril has worked to increase the diversity and accountability of the media reform movement itself, and to help grass-roots social justice leaders, including women, young people and persons of color, learn the skills they needed to be effective  advocates. In 2001, she founded the Youth Media Council in Oakland, California, demonstrating the close connections between the political activism of young people and the media.  While there, she authored a number of important works, including an analysis of newspaper coverage of juvenile justice in California and assessments of local television and radio stations monitored by young people. 

 

 Out of that work, Cyril went on in 2008 to found the Center for Media Justice (CMJ), a national organization committed to creating media and cultural conditions to strengthen the movements for racial justice, economic equity and human rights.  Cyril later co-founded  the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net), which brings together more than 120 affiliated organizations nationwide to advance a shared agenda for media justice. Through her leadership, CMJ has helped to equip the next generation of media reform activists through training, field organizing and grassroots education and advocacy.  The daughter of activists who instilled a deep appreciation for culture, movement-building and social justice, Cyril is also an accomplished creative writer, her work has been published in In the Tradition: An Anthology of Young Black Writers, Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poet’s Café, and Afrekete: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Writing. 

 

The Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture was created in 1982 to recognize the Rev. Dr. Everett C. Parker, founder of OC Inc., and his pioneering work as an advocate for the public's rights in broadcasting.  The event is the only lecture in the country to examine telecommunications in the digital age from an ethical perspective.  Past speakers have included network presidents, Congressional leaders, FCC chairs and commissioners, as well as academics, cable and telephone executives and journalists.  For ticket information visit www.uccmediajustice.org/parker2013.

 

The Cleveland-based United Church of Christ, a Protestant denomination with some 5,700 local congregations, recognizes the unique power of the media to shape public understanding and thus society as a whole.  For this reason, the UCC’s OC, Inc. works to create just and equitable media structures that give a meaningful voice to diverse peoples, cultures and ideas.  Established in 1959, OC Inc. ultimately established the right of all citizens to participate in FCC proceedings as part of its efforts to ensure a television broadcaster in Jackson, MS, served its African-American viewers during the height of the civil rights movement. 

Parker Lecture Honorees 2013

Hilary O. Shelton

Albert H. Kramer

Malkia Amala Cyril

 

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United Church of Christ, Office of Communication, Inc.

Cheryl A. Leanza, media contact

202-841-6033 (mobile)

cleanza@alhmail.com