An Auction That Could Transfrom Local Media
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"A broad and exciting array of public interest initiatives, including digital news sites, blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, public data sites, apps and civic engagement, could be built with some of the money generated by the auction."





With the demand for wireless broadband growing, the Federal Communications Commission is auctioning off a big chunk of the public airwaves. Billions of dollars are likely to change hands, a windfall that could transform local media across the country.
This broadband spectrum is now used by TV stations to broadcast their signals to the comparatively small number of customers who rely on antenna reception at a time when most people use cable, satellite or streaming services.
That’s why broadcasters are being encouraged to sell some or all of their spectrum to the F.C.C. in the auction. Stations can opt to give up their channels, share a channel with another broadcaster, or move elsewhere on the dial. In turn, the F.C.C. will sell this spectrum to mobile communications companies hungry for bandwidth to deliver more videos, texts and social media to their customers.
The proceeds from these sales could produce enormous public benefits if they are used to build a 21st-century infrastructure for public interest media. For states, communities and universities holding licenses in play, the auction presents an important opportunity to invest in new ways to meet the information needs of the public.
A broad and exciting array of public interest initiatives, including digital news sites, blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, public data sites, apps and civic engagement, could be built with some of the money generated by the auction.
At least 54 public television stations in 18 states and the District of Columbia applied to participate in the auction, according to research by the nonprofit group Free Press. These include three stations in the Los Angeles market, a major outlet on Chicago’s South Side, and the public station at Howard University in Washington. Each could be worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.
Perhaps nowhere is there a better opportunity to take advantage of the auction than in New Jersey. The state is part of a metropolitan region with a huge population, crowded airwaves and a big demand for mobile data. It owns four public TV licenses that are operated by WNET, the New York public television station. The F.C.C. estimated before the auction began that these licenses together could be worth as much as $2.3 billion.
New Jersey filed a nonbinding application to participate in the auction, but beyond that, its status is unknown. Under the rules, neither the F.C.C. nor the broadcasters can discuss the results until the auction has closed. The process is expected to be completed in early 2017, when winning bidders will be announced.
Even so, New Jersey lawmakers are looking hungrily at the potential bonanza of any sale to plow into the state budget. But these airwaves are the public’s, and their use has always come with public-interest obligations. A significant portion of any proceeds should be deployed strategically to meet the public’s real need for news and for information that helps citizens live their lives.
The governor and State Legislature should create a permanent fund to support a new model for public-interest media, financed by a significant portion of any auction revenue. This approach could serve as a model for other states, universities and communities seeking to sell their spectrum.
Among other uses, the New Jersey fund could support civic technology apps to put valuable data about elections, services and government spending into people’s hands; stronger community news coverage and watchdog journalism, particularly in underserved urban areas; more outlets for diverse voices that have traditionally been left out of newsrooms and news coverage; and a statewide civic engagement network to help people identify and explore the issues that matter most to them. Money might also be directed to support education, arts and culture.
We have a rare chance to strengthen communities by breathing new energy into local news and information. Members of the public no doubt could come up with many other superb ideas. So why not ask them?
This week, Free Press is starting a public education and engagement campaign to gather input from across the state and push New Jersey officials to create a new public fund with support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Democracy Fund Voice and others, that we hope will be replicated by other communities that will be affected by the auction.
As John Lawson, the former president of the Association of Public Television Stations, wrote last month on Current.org, public television needs a post-auction agenda that is mission-driven and transparent. “Addressing marketplace failures, such as the decline of local journalism, should be a priority,” he wrote.
None of this will happen without public involvement and pressure every step of the way. Bold action now could improve civic life and foster social trust and democratic participation across the nation. A vibrant democracy demands no less.
Christopher J. Daggett is the president and chief executive of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
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