BOB GARFIELD: And now for a few of your letters. On our coverage of the upcoming FCC vote on media deregulation, Elliot Mitchell had this to say: "If there ever was evidence that media concentration is a bad idea, look only at the dearth of coverage on the consolidation issue before the FCC." And Mr. Mitchell notes that in our discussion last week we left out how the commission counts penetration of UHF stations. He writes "They're discounted, you know, and if a media company invests heavily in UHF stations (which many of the Fox stations are) the market coverage is skewed in favor of the owners, not the viewers."


BROOKE GLADSTONE: And Jessica Randal writes that she's heard a lot about deregulation but still wonders "Whom does it benefit? At this point in time, if someone doesn't like specific programming, they can always tune in to something else. With less diversification, that will become harder to do. For an institution that upon its founding was declared a public domain, this maneuver seems unjust and unfounded."


BOB GARFIELD: Mark and Kathy Sondheim wrote in to praise our interview with Mark Bernstein, co-author of World War II On the Air which includes a CD of highlights from the reporting of Edward R. Murrow and his so-called "Murrow's Boys." They write that they quote "were certainly aware of Murrow, but not really the significance of what he had done."


BROOKE GLADSTONE: And finally this from Dale Heltzer. "The earth shudders, buildings tilt on their foundations as flights of birds crash into glinting window panes and vast swarms of locusts obscure the sun. I noted a week ago that OTM was a whole half minute shorter than usual -- the precious thirty seconds given over to additional underwriting announcements. What in the name of all that is holy is happening?! Please tell me that you are not being slowly and inexorably devoured by the corporate sponsorship leviathan."


BOB GARFIELD: Yeah, as if. We're not exactly buried in corporate sponsors around here, but - thanks for caring, and for your letters! Keep sending them to onthemedia@wnyc.org. And please don't forget to tell us where you live and how to pronounce your name.



BROOKE GLADSTONE: Coming up, more on the Bush administration's inspired media management, a tug of war over Iraqi TV, and a rescue -- reconsidered.


BOB GARFIELD: This is On the Media from NPR.