A Modest Proposal: Media Measurements That Matter

As the U.S. Federal Communications Commission nears reconsideration of its media ownership rules, the liberal think tank Center for American Progress released a report titled, "Local Media Diversity Matters." Co-authors Mark Lloyd and Phil Napoli write, "Americans' ability to learn about and debate local, state and national issues and to monitor our representatives depends upon our exposure to news and discussion that is not controlled by a small group of mostly like-minded corporations. ... Yet the FCC does not have the means today to determine whether its policies are promoting or discouraging independent and diverse speech." The report suggests new ways "to really measure local media diversity" and "determine what level of media diversity actually supports strong local democracies." The proposed approach takes into consideration "the diversity of sources available to both the general public and significantly distinct 'ethnic' audiences," distinguishes between outlets that do and do not offer "locally produced news and public affairs," and measures "gender and ethnic diversity" among news workers.