If you have ever wondered whether or not there are too few voices in television, I can attest that I found quite a few loud ones today.

Protesters led by Reverend Jesse Jackson gathered in front of the FCC building in Washington, DC to voice their concerns about local television. Several were dressed up like FCC cheerleaders chanting "2-4-6-8-who do we consolidate?" and "Deregulate me...Concentrate me!" Rev. Jackson told the crowd, "Local media matters and diversity of ownership matters." The protest quickly turned what was supposed to be a discussion on media diversity into a civil rights issue.

There's no doubt that women and minorities are underrepresented in TV ownership. Is a lack of localism bad for minorities? Perhaps it's true that increasing the diversity of ownership will increase the diversity of content.

Meanwhile inside the sixth and last official hearing on the issue of localism, FCC chairman Kevin Martin was flanked by Commissioners and experts brought in to share their findings. Commissioner Michael Copps said,"Consolidation chokes the life out of localism." Marcellus Alexander, Executive Vice President for NAB Television, testified that many local broadcasters across the nation provide 25-40 hours of important local TV content per week--not to mention sports, religion, and art programming.

Suddenly there was a disturbance in the back of the room. It was none other than a member of the group Code Pink dressed in a revealing French maid-type costume. (It is Halloween after all!)

At first glance security did not allow the woman into the room,citing her outfit for the rejection. After a bit of fuss she was allowed to join the group--who were clearly only attending the event to piggyback off the press attention Rev. Jackson's attendance garnered.

Anyway...let's get back on track. After the 1996 Telecommunications Act, large regional and national ownership groups increased, leaving room for "the number of good broadcasters to diminish and the number of mediocre broadcasters to increase," according to Andrew Schwartzman, President and CEO of the Media Access Project.

The FCC says the purpose of today's hearing was to gather information from consumers, industry, and civic organizations on broadcasters' service to their local communities. Polls show public concern over media consolidation across political, ethnic, and generational divides.

So as I type away just steps from our nation's capitol I wonder--Is there democracy in television? The way I figure, it's important for us to keep our independent journalistic voices. National programming isn't enough. When it comes to covering news, weather, and community events--competitive and diverse local stations serve communities like ours the best.