Common Cause: Media and Democracy Program

Over the course of the past year, we have played an important role in fighting media consolidation and protecting the editorial integrity of public broadcasting. We are now leading a coalition to promote public interest obligations for broadcasters. These are our immediate priorities:



Getting regulators to agree to impose specific public interest standards on broadcasters, using as political leverage broadcasters' desire for a rule to require cable operators to carry all their digital programming (the "must-carry" rule);
Continuing our work in Congress and at the FCC for better ownership rules
Protecting the independence of public broadcasting in the upcoming congressional reauthorization of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; and,
Developing the policy tools and networks necessary to advance a long-term agenda for media reform that responds to changing technology.