Sample Letter to the FCC on War Coverage

Dear FCC Commissioners,

I am a resident of __________, Michigan and watch Channel __ for my local TV news. I have been paying close attention to the coverage of the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and the general "War on Terrorism" since the September 11, 2001 attacks. War and national security are very serious issues and I want to make the best decision possible in terms of policies to support and how my tax dollars are being used.

Unfortunately, most of the local TV news coverage is not giving me enough diverse information that would allow me to make good decisions. A local media watchdog the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (www.griid.org) has been monitoring the TV stations in my area and have documented war coverage. I am concerned about the following aspects of this coverage:

  • The dominant voices or sources are primarily from the US government or military - I want to hear other perspectives
  • War coverage has been sanitized and representation of war victims has been disproportionately reported. While all the victims of the war deserve news coverage, U.S. soldier death/injuries have garnered a much greater percentage of the news coverage than the thousands of Iraqi war victims.
  • There is rarely much context provided for the historical relationship that my government has had with countries that we are at war with or consider enemy states
  • Most of the coverage that takes a look at the local connection to the war has been predominantly about military families - anti-war perspectives are rarely heard, nor information on the local economic impact of the war

My understanding is that local Television broadcasters are issued a license by your office to "serve the public interest." Channel ___ is currently re-applying for a license to use the Public Airwaves in my community. In light of this, I urge you to consider stronger requirements for local TV stations to provide adequate programming and news coverage in order for me to make informed decisions about government policies such as war. I have enclosed a set of standards that I and many others in this community have developed, which I think are reasonable for the TV stations to implement.

Thanks you for your time and I eagerly await your response on how the Public Airwaves can truly represent the Public Interest.

Respectfully
NAME - printed and signed
Address

The contents of this page are also available in a PDF version: Sample Letter to FCC on War Coverage.

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