Media Tracker, FCC Watch, and the Politics of Telecom, Media and Technology
Drew Clark of the Center for Public Integrity
The Media Tracker is a FREE database that tells Internet users who owns the media and communications networks where they live. By typing in ZIP code 02138 for Cambridge, for example, the user sees detailed information about the 29 television stations, the 53 radio stations, and the one cable company that reach some part of that ZIP code, as well as the 43 newspapers published within 100 miles. Clicking on any of the companies, e.g. CBS, then provides a narrative profile, shareholder information and a chart of the 36 TV and 104 radio stations held by the company – as well as the $2 million in political contributions and $5 million in lobbying expenditures by CBS. The Federal Communications Commission also says there are 13 broadband providers serving the ZIP code.
The Media Tracker is the heart of the “Well Connected” telecom and media project at the Center for Public Integrity. Combining data from publicly available sources in a new and unique way, The Media Tracker maps out ownership at the ZIP code level. Ownership is linked to lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions by company. The level of contribution by a telecom, media or technology company to any federal candidate can be viewed – documenting who has received what from whom. The project’s new FCC Watch database takes this oversight one step further, recording every lobbying encounter before the FCC. The most significant battle this year has been over the 700 Megahertz spectrum, a valuable swath of radio frequencies that has been the subject of extensive lobbying by former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, by Google, by spectrum incumbents and by the Bell companies.
About Drew
Drew Clark, senior fellow and project manager at the Center for Public Integrity, discussed how the project tracks the politics of telecom, media and technology. He is also available to discuss the project’s broadband lawsuit, its free data policy license, and its telecom policy wiki on Congresspedia.
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