Get daily Westford text alerts by subscribing here.
The FCC is proposing to redefine what a franchise fee is – and it will radically reduce the level of monetary support available to run community access channels across the United States.
Community access channels like WestfordCAT record government meetings to ensure local officials are transparent about their actions and behaviors. Giving regular citizens the ability to monitor actions is vital to the health of democracy.
Community access channels provide local content in communities that are not served by the broadcast industry and are increasingly under-served by newspapers. They help prevent “media deserts” in towns and cities across the U.S. and they ensure diversity of opinion at the local level.
Congress should stop the FCC from trying to re-write the 1984 Cable Act to financially starve local communities and our Community Access channels in its rule-making. (Docket NR 05-311).Please help out WestfordCAT by signing the petition at petition2congress.com/ctas/stop-fcc-from-defunding-peg-channels/letter.
If you value this free news article, please consider making a donation to WestfordCAT through: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/
