IP Democracy: Cool Tool for Media Ownership Tracking

Public interest investigative journalism organization Public Integrity has launched a very cool new tool called the “Media Tracker.” Users can enter their zip codes, or town and state names and then the tracker scans a database to pull up lists of local media and telecommunications services, along with ownership information for each outlet.

The results then provide a list of how many TV and radio stations, cable providers, broadband providers and newspapers there are within 100 miles of the location. Tabs at the top allow users to click through to find out which companies own these outlets — with the exception of broadband providers. The Center is drawing upon the FCC’s broadband ownership database, which only makes publicly available the number of broadband providers in a given county. The Center has filed a lawsuit against the FCC for its failure to provide more detailed data on broadband providers under the Freedom of Information Act.

Just for grins, I entered my zip code, 20814. Here’s the number of media outlets within a hundred miles of me.

—25 licensed television stations
—55 licensed radio stations
—2 matching cable communities
—17 reported broadband providers
—30 newspapers within 100 miles

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on October 25, 2006 2:22 PM to IP Democracy