II C. Without Access To Frequencies Located Outside of The Reserved Band, The Diversity Of Voices And Programming Available To The Public Will Be Diminished
By closing a majority of the radio spectrum to public broadcasters, the Commission threatens to sacrifice one of the primary goals driving its broadcast policies over the last sixty years -- maximizing the diversity of ownership, points of view and programming available to the public. This goal stems from the First Amendment, "which rests on the assumption that the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public." The Commission should not sacrifice this goal after all of these years for the sake of a one-time addition to the Federal treasury.
The goal of diversity is already threatened by the rapid consolidation of the media industry since the adoption of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. FCC Chairman William Kennard has expressed concern on several occasions about the impact of media consolidation on diversity. In a Separate Statement to the NPRM, Commissioner Gloria Tristani stated that she is "deeply concerned that minority ownership of broadcast stations has declined from 3.07 percent in 1995 to 2.81 percent in 1996-97." According to Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, National Telecommunications and Information Administration ("NTIA"), U.S. Department of Commerce, the top 10 commercial radio groups control more than 1,000 radio stations across the country. Secretary Irving stated that this trend has hurt localism and diversity of ownership, resulting, for example, in a 10% drop in minority ownership of broadcast outlets just over the last year. Radio industry mergers have also raised concerns at the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Thus, it is especially important at this time to adopt policies which promote broadcast diversity.
Public broadcasters provide a critical contribution to the diversity of voices and programming available to the public. The Commission has found that public broadcasters offer diverse programs that meet "cultural and informational interests often given minimal attention by commercial broadcasters." Public broadcasters are expected to provide "significant alternative programming designed to satisfy the interests of the public not served by commercial broadcasters." Public broadcasters are also committed to airing programming that serves the unique needs of local audiences. Since a significant portion of a public broadcaster’s budget is comprised of direct financial contributions from local audiences, public broadcasters have a special duty to serve local needs and interests.
Congress intended all citizens of the United States to have access to the diverse programming offered by public broadcasters. However, only 91% of all Americans currently receive one or more public radio signals. To maximize the diversity of voices and programming available to the public and to achieve Congress’ goal of universal service, public broadcasters must be able to continue expanding their services to reach additional unserved and underserved communities, as well as to preserve their current level of service. They can only do that if the Commission rejects its proposal to subject public broadcasters to auctions when they have filed competing applications for new or modified licenses outside of the limited reserved noncommercial band.