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GUESTS: Jeff Perlstein, Executive Director of Media Alliance, Sydney Levy, Program Director of Media Alliance

Today from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. there will be a Federal Communications Commission town-hall meeting in Los Angeles to discuss diversity and localism in the media. FCC Chair and Republican Party member Kevin J. Martin recently launched a formal review of media ownership rules. Martin favors the loosening of newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules. Last Sunday, former Vice President Al Gore lashed out at centralization of the media calling it a major threat to democracy. The mainstream media is already tremendously consolidated: Clear Channel Corporation owns over 1,200 radio stations and out of 1,500 newspapers in the country, only 281 are independently owned. Members of the community who are concerned about further media consolidation and its effects on their local community are encouraged to attend and participate in this evening’s hearing, which is sponsored by KPFK. Congresswomen Hilda Solis and Diane Watson, and FCC commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps will be present for the community dialogue. The town-hall meeting is being sponsored by the National Latino Media Council in partnership with Media Alliance and Free Press.

The FCC hearing will be held on Thursday August 31, 6:30-9:30 pm at the USC – Davidson Conference Center (3415 South Figueroa Street, enter through Gate 4 on Jefferson Blvd. at Royal St.)

There will be a workshop at 5 pm for members of the public.

For more information, visit www.media-alliance.org.