International Telecommunications

Newsroom: General

Consumers Frustrated with Phones, Media, Cable TV, Internet Get New Website to Fight Back in Marketplace

12/14/2004

MEDIA ADVISORY

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2004

Contact:

Susan Herold, Consumers Union

Consumers Frustrated with Phones, Media, Cable TV, Internet Get New Web site to Fight Back in Marketplace

Consumers Union to launch www.HearUsNow.org Thursday; Unique site gives advice, analysis on full array of telecom issues

(Washington, D.C.) – Cable TV rates are going up again. Phone company mergers mean you get hit in the pocketbook. And what is all this hype about digital TV and Internet phone service?

To help consumers navigate the ever-changing telecommunications landscape – from filing a complaint about their cell phone bill to understanding DTV – Consumers Union Thursday will launch a one-of-a-kind web site, www.HearUsNow.org, that follows our long tradition of promoting a fair and just marketplace.

As a portal to information from hundreds of community and national groups, the site will empower consumers by providing the latest in media telecom news and advice, and provide the tools to take action for better and more affordable media, telephone, cable and Internet services or equipment.

By focusing on major media, technology and communications issues and emphasizing local stories, www.HearUsNow.org will help explain increasingly complex issues and the connections between these issues, underscore what's at stake, and offer ways to make improvements.

What:	News conference, site unveiling and demonstration of www.HearUsNow.org
When:	11 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 16, EST
Where:	Jury's Hotel, Doyle A, 1500 New Hamsphire Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.
Who:	Gene Kimmelman, senior director of public policy, Consumers Union Morgan Jindrich, director of HearUsNow.org, Consumers Union

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For media unable to attend, you can participate in the news conference by Contacting Us.