The Progressives' Handbook

A comprehensive overview of "Who owns what" can be found at Columbia Journalism Review's excellent site (www.cjr.org/resources). For example, if you click on News Corp., you'll find that it owns Fox Broadcasting Company as well as dozens of local stations across the United States. News Corp. also owns 19 Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) and cable companies, four film studios, various newspapers in the US, UK and Australia, and the vast number of imprints represented by HarperMorrow Publishers. News Corp. even has a stake in both the LA Kings and LA Lakers. (Check out the Journalism Tools and Language Corner sections of the Columbia Journalism Review site too.)

The Center for Public Integrity has a terrific search engine that lets you see exactly who owns what newspapers, radio stations and TV outlets in your community. Just type in your zip code or city name and within seconds you'll get a terrific report. Try it at www.publicintegrity.org/telecom.

And how focused on media issues are your representatives? Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) are examples of leaders who "get it" - both have been active in confronting the FCC's excesses, and both have worked to inform the American public about the importance of keeping media democratic. What's your representatives' scorecard when it comes to the media? If you're not sure, then head to Free Press (www.freepress.net/washington) and find out how your legislators have voted on media issues. If you like what you see, then let your reps know. If you don't like it, let them know even faster.