So what would bring together a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate and a Republican advocate for children?
Would you believe their love for Big Media?
Such was the case with Jim Davis and Mark Lunsford last week. They were among the more than 200 people who showed up to give their two cents' worth to the Federal Communications Commission about media ownership.
Both men praised the mainstream press.
Introduced as "Congressman Jim Davis," the Tampa-Washington lawyer told commissioners how much he thought Media General's ownership of both NewsChannel 8 and the Tampa Tribune had improved Tampa Bay.
"I think that cross-ownership has had some benefit in this community," Davis told the five FCC commissioners assembled at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. He went even further and asked the commissioners to consider allowing more companies to own both print and electronic media in a single market as a means of preserving and somehow subsidizing the failing daily newspaper industry. (Cross-ownership is currently not allowed except in 40 grandfathered markets, like Tampa's, that received waivers after the law changed in 1975.)
For more than a few in the crowd that night, his position seemed a turnaround from his days as a Democratic congressman who opposed relaxing media ownership rules. In 2003, when then-FCC Chairman Michael Powell was ramming through more deregulation (the attempt was later blocked by the courts), a St. Petersburg Times article recounted Davis listening to lots of angry anti-Big Media constituents. The article described him as "sympathetic" and said he "expressed similar concerns about further media consolidation."
What a difference four years, and a change in jobs, seemed to make. Davis disclosed at the start of his speech that his law firm, Holland & Knight, does work for Media General. For years, it has represented the company in libel and First Amendment cases, among other work. Davis, after losing the gubernatorial race, joined the firm in January to assist its Washington, D.C., offices on Capitol Hill matters. He made sure he told commissioners he was speaking on his own behalf and not on that of his employer.
Davis explained two days later that his views on Big Media haven't changed; he still worries about News Corp.'s overall domination, and he wouldn't favor unfettered mergers, for instance.
"My views then were the same as they are now," Davis said from his downtown Tampa office. "I think the newspaper industry is really struggling. I see more of a slide, and I worked on these issues in Congress."
But Davis said he understands "the cynicism" some might feel that he is softer on Big Media than he once was. The issue, he continued, is complex and layered. Davis said he spoke solely on cross-ownership of newspapers and TV stations in the same market because he believes it is one possibility to help save newspapers.
"I like the fact that we have dueling dailies," he said. "To the extent that we allow newspapers to do other things … that should be on the table. It's subject to other considerations as to the level of competition that exists."
Even if, by his own assessment, convergence's journalism benefits have flowed largely to the broadcast station. "Do I think that the convergence has really helped the Tribune on the news side? I don't think it has. The Tribune news has been limited and is becoming more limited."
And Davis certainly doesn't owe Media General anything from his last political effort; the Trib's editorial board endorsed Charlie Crist.
Then there was child-protection advocate Mark Lunsford.
"The media has never let me down," Lunsford told the FCC, a contrast to many other speakers who derided the job the media did covering the runup to the Iraq War, for instance. "The media has given me the opportunity to tell America how we're failing our own children."
Lunsford's daughter, 9-year-old Jessica, was killed in 2005, and he has since become an advocate traveling the U.S. for stronger child protection. He's a candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, running as a Republican in a district north of Tampa Bay, so throwing some love Big Media's way certainly wouldn't hurt his cause any.
After his two-minute statement, I asked Lunsford how he'd heard about the FCC hearing. He said his girlfriend read about it in the papers, and he called some reporters he has worked with to find out how he could give testimony. Lunsford said he doesn't read newspapers himself; he finds them too depressing.
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This article appears in May 9-15, 2007.