Cheryl Leanza

Thanks @pallone.house.gov for this important letter highlighting the danger that the current @FCC is subverting the law for the benefit of two huge broadcast companies.

democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/sites/evo-su...

+ FCC currently has authority to block top-4 combos
+ If the FCC wants to change the policy, it can, BUT it has to **actually vote**
+ Given that there are many more big mergers with big policy questions pending -- including Nexstar/TEGNA which actually violates the law -- this is a BAD SIGN.

...it explicitly withheld judgement on whether a different version of the rule blocking top-4 combos would be OK
+ Faced w/ Sinclair's proposed top-4 combos, the Bureau didn't wait for FCC guidance. It relied on an FCC litigation decision not to pursue the issue further in court. That's Not OK!

A quick FCC law recap for those playing along at home:
+ A bureau cannot make new policy.
+ The last time the FCC took an official action on this it PROHIBITED combining two of the top four TV stations in a single market.
+ A court did overturn the FCC's rule, but ....

So this decision is bad for many reasons. Among the many bad things: 1) this was made by the Media Bureau, not the FCC, 2) it authorized combinations of top-4 TV stations in a single market. Not only is combining 2 of the top 4 TV stations in a market bad policy, the Bureau can't legally do that.

Thanks to Commissioner Gomez for sounding the alarm. Unfortunately it is hardly a surprise that the second Trump FCC is continuing efforts to deprive low-income people of connectivity.

Ethical journalism demands independence — especially from the industries it covers.

By teaming up with Securus on a "correctional telecom" event — a company that profits from prison phone + video calls — Broadband Breakfast is platforming industry interests while silencing those most affected.

I'm out this morning with @uccmediajustice.org to protest the @FCC ruling to increase rates for incarcerated people. #phonejustice

The Steep Cost of Data Centers
Soon after Microsoft opened a data center near La Esperanza in central Mexico last year, the town began suffering power outages. A doctor stitched up children by flashlight and turned away patients when equipment stopped working.
nytimes.com/2025/10/22/w...

New FCC regulations threaten law that bars companies from raising telephone and internet rates to incarcerated persons - United Church of Christ More than a decade of successful advocacy by the United Church of Christ’s Media Justice Ministry now faces a new threat—proposed Federal Communications

New FCC regulations threaten law that bars companies from raising telephone and internet rates to incarcerated persons

www.ucc.org/new-fcc-regu...

Column | The hidden way using a rewards card can cost you more Starbucks tracked my every purchase — then gave me fewer deals. It’s called surveillance pricing.

Startling and excellent article showing how a loss of privacy can cost you money every day.

The hidden way using a rewards card can cost you more

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

I'm here in Boston this morning for the appellate court argument on last year's #phonejustice decision at the @FCC.

This billionaire Trump ally and his son are building an unprecedented media empire Larry and David Ellison’s holdings span movies, TV networks, CBS and soon a stake in TikTok, in a paradigm-shifting portfolio with huge influence.

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Weiss's Free Press has campaigned against what it calls “wokeism” in mainstream media, and Weiss, like the Ellisons, is a strong supporter of Israel, but her site has also been critical of Trump.

This billionaire Trump ally and his son are building an unprecedented media empire Larry and David Ellison’s holdings span movies, TV networks, CBS and soon a stake in TikTok, in a paradigm-shifting portfolio with huge influence.

Just what we need ...

David Ellison’s appointment of a opinion journalist Bari Weiss to helm the network of legacy broadcasters Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite has set the stage for a culture clash. ...

Picture of a radio broadcast microphone.

Today on the first day of the next phase of public media, from @uccmediajustice.org

The impact of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shutting down and what you can do

uccmediajustice.org/public-media...

The Kimmel suspension is a much bigger deal than you know.

It's really about a growing alliance between Trump and the companies that own America's local TV stations - like Nexstar - to turn local TV into Trump propaganda.

1/ Let me tell you the short story. It's chilling.

JOINT LEADERSHIP STATEMENT ON THE SUSPENSION OF JIMMY KIMMEL Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu, Assistant Leader Joe Neguse and DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene released the following s...

Thanks to @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social and the House Dem9cratic Leadership team for this
democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-...

Important words from @agomezfcc.bsky.social
Trump administration ‘weaponizing’ FCC authority, commissioner says
thehill.com/homenews/adm...

Echoes of Fred Friendly: When networks bow to power What is really concerning about Kimmel’s suspension is the role that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendon Carr—and by extension President Trump—played in threatening to pull the broadcas...

FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatened ABC affiliates over Jimmy Kimmel’s on-air comments. It’s not the first time networks have bowed to power—and history warns us what’s at stake.

Read our latest blog from UCC Media Justice board treasurer Sara Fitzgerald:

House Democratic leaders issue a joint statement calling on FCC’s Brendan Carr to resign, labeling his actions a “corrupt abuse of power.”

Echoes of Fred Friendly: When networks bow to power What is really concerning about Kimmel’s suspension is the role that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendon Carr—and by extension President Trump—played in threatening to pull the broadcas...

Thanks to @uccmediajustice.org board member and journalist's post on the travesty with Jimmy Kimmel: uccmediajustice.org/when-network...

Commissioner Gomez is the only voice of reason left at the FCC.

Every journalist covering Kimmel’s suspension should be calling her today.

She is an expert and she has stood firmly for upholding the Constitution.

How AI discriminates and what that means for your Google habit: A conversation with internet studies scholar Safiya Noble The UCLA professor who put the study of algorithmic discrimination on the map turns her focus to our AI-powered future.

We’re honored to welcome @safiyanoble.bsky.social as this year’s #ParkerLecture2025 lecturer.

In this 2024 interview, Dr. Noble breaks down how AI systems perpetuate discrimination—and what that means for all of us:

Prison Phone Justice Delayed — What’s at Stake and What You Can Do On September 15, UCC Media Justice helped organize a coalition letter of faith and public interest groups urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to overturn its unjust and unlawful suspens...

📢 Families shouldn’t have to choose between food and hearing a loved one’s voice.

We helped organize a coalition letter urging the FCC to reverse its unjust rollback of fair prison phone & video rates. #PhoneJustice

Read more on our blog:

Great #FCC filing in support of #phonejustice by 8 AGs! Thanks to @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov @massago.bsky.social @ilattygeneral.bsky.social @oagmaryland.bsky.social @newjerseyoag.bsky.social @newyorkstateag.bsky.social @AGEllison @AGNeronha
www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/...

Before the DOC received $580K annually, NOW the DOC will get $3.75 MILLION annually plus $2.2 MILLION worth of in-kind security technology, including call monitoring software, body scanning devices and (heartless) digital mail technology.

Also this article explains how the Dept of Corrections is exploiting families even further with the blessing of the @FCC with Securus offering astronomical payments (aka kickbacks).

With Little Notice, Oklahoma Prison Phone Call Rates More Than Double - Oklahoma Watch A June 30 FCC order cleared the way for phone call rates, and commission payments to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, to increase.

Families are suffering with the FCC's betrayal of families on #phonejustice. oklahomawatch.org/2025/09/12/w...

Know Peace Online: Know Your Limits Across many faith traditions, the message is the same: stepping away from the scroll creates space to hear more clearly what truly matters.

The internet never stops—but we can.

The final Know Peace Online pillar, Know Your Limits, invites us to pause, step back, and set boundaries that honor our health, our relationships, and God’s Creation.

Read more: buff.ly/VfVk6GK

#KnowPeaceOnline