Two commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission appeared at a town hall meeting regarding media consolidation Thursday night.

Two panel discussions and public testimonies took place at the nearly four-hour-long event, which was held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein appeared at the "Town Meeting on the Future of Media," sponsored by Free Press, a media reform group, and 20 others, including Marquette's College of Communication.

The FCC has returned to square one and is beginning to look at cross-ownership rules for a second time after courts rejected the commission's 2003 decision to loosen media restrictions. The five FCC commissioners must decide, for example, if a company can own multiple television and radio stations, along with the major daily newspaper, in one local market.

"This is really the beginning," Copps said. "(The issue) is going to be decided between now and the first months of 2007."

Copps said 3 million people petitioned the FCC and Congress in 2003 when the FCC voted to remove restrictions on media cross-ownership. He suggested that all five commissioners of the FCC should come to "the real world beyond the Beltway" to hear from the public at town hall meetings such as the one in Milwaukee.

"They should not be allowed to vote until they do that," Copps said to the nearly 300 people gathered. "It's all of us who own the airwaves. Broadcasters are licensed to use your airwaves."

Democratic Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, who is a candidate in today's primary, spoke against more lenient FCC regulations.

The current media arrangement, she said, is leading to a shrinking range of editorial viewpoint and political under-representation.

Lawton said further rules regarding media ownership should be set by the FCC.

"Let's at least maintain the (current) restrictions as they are," she said.

She also echoed the comments of several other panelists and members of the audience, who said major media companies do little to promote diversity and local coverage.

Copps cited a study in which it was found that only 3 percent of broadcasting companies are minority-owned.

"Should we be surprised when minority issues get slighted?" he said.

Mary Glass, founder and CEO of Campaign Neighborhood-CFNBA, said there is a "glaring sign of exclusion" of minorities and the working poor in the media.

Adelstein said that community public affairs programming consists of one-half of one percent of total television programming, while infomercials make up 14 percent.

"While we may be getting strong abs, we're getting flabby democracy."

"Elections are treated like a horse race instead of the core of our civic life," said David Newby, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

Janine Geske, professor of law at Marquette, moderated the evening's town hall discussion, in which eight panelists and 39 audience members participated.

"You heard a level of dissatisfaction in the community with the media — that it's not responsive particularly to minority populations, and I think it's important to the commissioners to learn that," she said.

"There are some really wonderful individuals in the media in Milwaukee," said Geske, a former Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice and trial court judge. "But that whole issue of corporate ownership and lack of competition impacts the quality of what we see and hear."

Free Press has hosted Copps and Adelstein at similar town hall meetings across the country. In 2003, the two democrats were in the minority of a 3-2 FCC decision to loosen broadcast ownership rules. The Third District Court of Appeals eventually rejected the revisions, and in 2004 it ordered the FCC to look at the rules again.

Copps and Adelstein listened to testimony from members of the audience. Public comments were recorded and will be entered into federal record.

"We're going to take what we got here back to Washington," Adelstein said.