OC, Inc.

ISSUE BRIEF: What would you do without your phone?

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:39:38 -0500

What if you had to choose between food and a phone? Heat? While many of us are fortunate enough not to have to make those choices, in these difficult economic times, a daily choice between essential needs is the daily reality for many. The United Church of Christ's historic media and telecommunications advocacy ministry is trying to make that choice a little bit easier for those in difficult straits. These issues are of critical interest to the civil rights communities and everyone concerned about income equality in the U.S.

At the same time that today millions of Americans rely on smart phones for everything from playing Angry Birds to staying in touch with the office, some Americans are making the choice between falling off the grid and putting food on the table. While telephones are not an essential need like home or nutrition, telephones are a critical element of national security--connecting us to critical services like 911. They are also an important element of civic engagement and economic security: without a telephone, it is impossible to call your congressman, your child's school, and most important, is impossible to get a job or access to support services when you are unemployed. In particular for people who are balancing child care and multiple jobs, a mobile phone can make an essential difference.

Unemployment is a critical issue for the civil rights community -- while the current unemployment rate is 8.6 for all Americans, but 15.5 percent for African-Americans and 11.1 percent for Hispanics. Disabled Americans suffer from 13 percent unemployment according to the latest figures. To climb out of these difficult circumstances, people need to use every possible asset, from telephoning potential job prospects, to managing child care, to using unemployment insurance or food stamps to get by while looking for work. None of these are possible without a phone, and today the Internet.

Fortunately, the U.S. has a pretty successful program to ensure that Americans who need a phone can get one--it is appropriately called "Lifeline" and it is run through cooperation by the states, telephone companies and the federal government. Families earning below 135% of poverty, or $30,172 for a family of 4, are eligible. The benefit on average is $10 per month, which is paid directly to the telephone company on behalf of eligible households. The program is vastly underutilized, but still it reaches 10 million people each year. This program is one of the smaller part of a broader communications policy called "universal service" which ensures people in rural areas, schools and libraries and rural health care providers get access to affordable telephone service. The Lifeline program for low-income people is one of the smaller programs, however, comprising only about 15 percent of the total universal service allocation at $1.2 billion annually (as compared with the 4.5 billion spent on rural telephone access).

Right now the Federal Communications Commission, which runs the program, is considering changes and reforms. It has already taken steps to ensure that Lifeline recipients are not mislead by telephone companies seeking to receive duplicate benefits for duplicate services. Unfortunately, the Commission is also considering capping the fund, even though it only reaches approximately 30 percent of eligible households. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, including many civil rights leaders, have asked the Commission not to cap the program.

In addition, the FCC is considering updating the program so that it applies not only to telephone service, but also to modern broadband technology. Because while a telephone is part of a job-seeker's arsenal, the Internet is becoming equally essential. Many employers, such as McDonald's and Wal-Mart take only online applications for job applicants, and five states offer unemployment benefits only online. The FCC itself has found in its National Broadband Plan that broadband "Access to broadband is increasingly important for all Americans to actively participate in our economy. Broadband can serve as a platform for educational, economic and social opportunities. It can also minimize economic disparities." At the same time that the Commission recently updated the much larger universal service program geared toward rural areas, it is unclear whether low-income people will be left behind. United Church of Christ and its allies have weighed in with FCC Chairman Genachowski to update the program and expand it to broadband as recommended in the National Broadband Plan. While the Chairman originally planned to complete reform by the end of 2011, reform now looks to occur in early 2012.

These issues are critical for equity in all aspects of our lives -- from personal security to competitiveness in jobs and education. The civil rights community is unified behind a need to ensure all Americans and children can access essential technologies to keep our nation competitive in the information age. We urge the Federal Communications Commission to push ahead and for interested legislators to weigh in to ensure that this essential program is not left in yesterday's technology.

Net Neutrality for the Faith Community: Webinar Dec. 6

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:50:56 -0500

Last week the U.S. Senate fortunately voted in favor of retaining the existing net neutrality rules, adopted by the Obama FCC at the end of last year. As OC Inc. said last year, those rules are not as strong as we would like, but at least we have something on the books.

The debate is not over -- the issue will be considered in court and some policymakers continue to threaten to remove the limited protections we have now. Next month UCC OC Inc. is proud to collaborate with our friends at the World Association for Christian Communication on a webinar explaining net neutrality for the faith community in both the US and Canada. Join us!

Net Neutrality for the Faith Community: What You Need To Know

United Church of Christ's Office of Communication, Inc (UCC OC, Inc) and World Association for Christian Communication, North America (WACC North America) jointly invite you to a webinar on Net Neutrality, focusing on its importance for the faith community.

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/633965889

Faith communities and social justice advocates have invested significant resources in new technologies – from web sites to online video to social media. But did you know that Internet policies in the US and Canada could adversely impact our investments in electronic communication? The Internet that we know today could be rapidly moving to a model that resembles the old broadcast and cable model dominated by a few deep-pocketed corporate interests. While the U.S. Senate just voted to preserve the existing U.S. rules, this debate is far from over.

Presenters Cheryl Leanza, Policy Advisor, UCC OC Inc. (www.uccmediajustice.org), and Reilly Yeo, Managing Director, Open Media (http://www.openmedia.ca/) will help you understand net neutrality, why it is important, and what you can do to advocate for it in Canada and the United States.

To register for the webinar please go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/633965889. There is no charge to attend this seminar but registration is required, as spaces are limited.

Title:    Net Neutrality: What You Need To Know
Date:    Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Time:    1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Senate Vote on Open Internet Thurs. Nov. 10

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:22:53 -0500

The U.S. Senate is voting tomorrow November 10 on whether to roll back the Obama Administration's new Internet protections. As you may recall, the Obama Administration responded to our call and adopted rules last year to ensure that the Internet will remain an open platform for free speech. But the conservative Congress is poised to repeal the new rules. If opponents in Congress succeed, we will be left with no protection if an Internet company decided to favor its own content, charge extra fees for noncommercial video, or just plain censor unpopular views.

Rev. Jim Antal, member of the UCC OC Inc. board and Conference Minister for the Massachusetts Conference, has written Sen. Scott Brown to urge him to vote to support an open Internet. The National Council of Churches Communication Commission supports an open Internet. Faith communicators from many denominations around the country wrote asking the Senate to support an open Internet. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops supports an open Internet.

Hopefully the U.S. Senate will listen and refuse to overturn the open Internet rules. Urge your Senator to vote "NO" on S.J. Res. 6.

Building Community on the Air

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:37:00 -0400

WEBINAR:

Building Community on the Air: Using local radio for civil rights and progressive power

Community radio has helped farmworkers win better wages, revitalized local music, and exposed human rights violations. Thanks to a recent legislative victory in media reform, the Federal Communications Commission will soon begin the process of accepting applications for licenses to create new community radio stations. In an era of increasing media consolidation that drowns out diverse voices, the community radio initiative presents the progressive and civil and human rights community with a tremendous opportunity to get our messages out in communities around the country.

Join the Center for American Progress Action Fund, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Prometheus Radio Project for an exciting webinar to learn about the benefits of community radio and how you can participate in growing progressive voices on the airwaves.

Date:

November 8, 4:00 p.m. EST

Presenters:

Corrine Yu, Managing Policy Director, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Brandy Doyle, Policy Director, Prometheus Radio Project
John Freeman of KOCZ, the first radio station licensed to a civil rights organization, the Southern Development Foundation in Opelousas, Louisiana
Hugo Morales, Executive Director of Radio Bilingüe, a non-profit radio network founded by farmworkers and artists in 1976, the only national distributor of Spanish-language programming in public radio.

RSVP here. If you are unable to attend this webinar but want materials and invitations to future webinars, sign up with Prometheus.

Slow Start to Broadcaster Disclosure, Important Work Ahead

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:31:30 -0400

This morning the FCC started a process to bring broadcaster disclosure to modern technology to an essential public disclosure process. We had understood that this process would start with a more limited "inquiry" proceeding, but that would rapidly move to fruition by the spring so that we would have the benefit of the new and improved disclosure by this summer, in time for the 2012 elections.

We had expected a start in the inquiry proceeding considering new and improved disclosures today. We supported this slower process with the condition of its speedy resolution on all fronts. The Chairman and the Commissioners did not publicly promise a date for the start of this proceeding today. We understand that we should expect to see that item early next week. Without the prompt start of the process, the prompt resolution of it will be impossible. Journalists and the public will be waiting impatiently as next summer's debates in national and local elections and we all hope to see increased news coverage of civic affairs.

We are pleased to hear the Commission emphasize the importance of a searchable database, which is a critical element for the data's usefulness to the public and researchers alike. It was good to see the unanimous recognition by all four Commissioners that moving broadcaster disclosure online is an obvious and fully justified proposal.

UCC OC Inc. strongly urges members of the public, journalists and scholars to come forward to explain in the upcoming FCC process the value this heretofore hidden information to their work. We will be vigilant in pursuing the speedy completion of this proceeding.