Local Radio Broadcast Emergency Services

LOCAL RADIO BROADCAST EMERGENCY SERVICES

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, on Wednesday, March 15, 2006, I joined Senator SNOWE and Senator BAUCUS in introducing S. 2418, a bill to preserve local radio broadcast emergency and other services and to require the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a rulemaking for that purpose.

Growing up in my home town of Pascagoula, MS, I had my own radio show. Through local radio, I had the opportunity to have a voice in my community. Local radio keeps communities informed about what is going on in their back yards, and gives local leaders an opportunity to communicate with their supporters.

Over the years, I have been actively voicing my concerns on the issue of media ownership. I believe that the problem of the pervasiveness of indecency in broadcasting is related to my concerns about media ownership. When media conglomerates become too large, they are less responsive to the concerns of the American viewing public and less accountable to local communities. Media companies which use publicly owned airwaves must become more responsive to public needs, respectful of local values and reflective of community standards which seem to be constantly ignored by executives in east and west coast high-rise office buildings.

In order to ensure that radio remains an independent source of information for local communities, I am pleased to introduce a bill to preserve local radio broadcast emergency and other services and to require the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a rulemaking for that purpose.

http://thomas.loc.gov/