Page 271 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

0 | Med a Reform

local television station, WLBT. Despite filing continuous Fairness Doctrine
complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding
racist coverage at WLBT, the station remained completely biased in their sup-
port of segregation. The Fairness Doctrine was regulated by the FCC and re-
quired broadcasters to present controversial issues of social significance in a
fair, equal, and balanced manner. Some complaints about the station included,
but were not limited to: no coverage of the civil rights movement in Missis-
sippi or nationally, outright support for segregation and racist policies through
opinion and news pieces, and interrupted broadcasts from national news net-
works, especially during the airing of the announcement of the Supreme Court
decision that desegregated the school system (Brown vs. Board of Education).
In addition, Jackson had a 40 percent African American population, while
the television station had an entirely white staff. Local organizers in Jackson
gained the attention and the support of the leadership of United Church of
Christ and other allied religious denominations. The United Church of Christ
had recently created the Office of Communications, Inc. (OC, Inc.), headed by
Everett Parker. Working with local civil rights organizers in Jackson, Everett
Parker and OC, Inc. challenged the broadcasting license of WLBT, which was
up for renewal in 1964.
The license challenge launched a 16-year legal battle over the Jackson station.
This challenge was the first time a broadcast license had been challenged over
unfair/unbalanced coverage. There was no process for citizens to get a hearing
with the FCC. The only people who could participate in the regulatory pro-
cess were economic stakeholders or people who had electrical interference is-
sues with the station. The FCC denied the license challenge. OC, Inc. appealed
the decision a number of times until the license was eventually revoked. After-
wards, a lengthy period of transition occurred, during which WLBT become
more diverse, produced better coverage of civil rights issues, and improved
the reporting and portrayal of the African American community of Jackson.
It became the first majority black-owned television station in the South. The
“WLBT case,” as it came to be known, created a legacy of citizen involvement
with media. Additionally, as a result of the WLBT case, OC, Inc. challenged the
FCC to incorporate an Equal Employment Opportunity rule. This rule took ef-
fect in the 1970s under continuous pressure from OC, Inc and led to affirmation
action programs in the broadcasting industry.

mEDia ownErshiP

Media ownership is at the center of many policy debates and media reform
campaigns. In the last two decades, the number of corporations that own major
media outlets, like television stations, radio stations, cable, book publishing
companies, and music labels has gone from 50 to a concentration of 10 major
corporations. Media ownership rules have been increasingly relaxed. In this
round of deregulation, laws that formerly regulated the industry to correct mar-
ket failures such as monopolies and price-rigging were removed or changed,
usually to the benefit of corporate interests. The 1996 Telecommunications Act