On Monday, April 30, the FCC will be in Tampa to conduct a public hearing on media ownership. (Here’s the FCC announcement, or see this page for more information.) This is a rare opportunity when the FCC will be in our backyard, asking for input from the people who own the airwaves (that’s us, the American people!)

I’m organizing a carpool from Gainesville for people who would like to attend the hearing. We’ll leave from Gainesville on Monday around noon, and return that evening. If you’d like to come, email me with your name, phone number, and whether you can drive in the carpool. Since the date is rapidly approaching, please contact me ASAP if you’re interested.

Billy Manes, “Why the Media Sucks,” Orlando Weekly, April 26, 2007.

What may seem like a cerebral affair is actually right there in your face every day, says Gavin Baker, a political science major at the University of Florida who has put together a campus workshop to draw students to the Tampa event.

“I think it connects with people, because people intuitively understand that the media sucks,” he says. “They see what’s on TV, they hear what’s on the radio, and it sucks. That’s why people are fleeing the mainstream media in record numbers, going and taking their eyeballs somewhere else.”

For more information on media ownership, visit StopBigMedia.com.