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US media ownership rules relaxed
BBC News, December 18, 2007
US regulators are to relax local media ownership rules preventing firms from controlling both a TV channel and a newspaper in its largest cities.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to scrap a 32-year old rule preventing dual ownership of print and broadcast outlets in 20 cities.
In a 3-2 split vote, Republican members said the move "struck a balance" between competition and plurality.
But dissenting Democrats said it would create new loopholes, not close them.
The Republican chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin, cast the deciding vote.
He called the move a "relatively minimal loosening of the ban", adding it "may help to forestall the erosion in local news coverage".
Political issue
The issue is politically contentious, with groups within both houses of Congress pressing the FCC to delay its judgement and threatening to pass legislation to revoke the decision.
However, the White House has warned it will veto any bill coming out of Congress which waters down the proposed changes.
The decision overturns rules in place since 1975 designed to support diversity of opinion and competition among news suppliers.
Proponents of reform argued that the proliferation of cable TV channels and the growth of the internet meant such safeguards were now obsolete.
But critics said that while the number of media outlets had exploded, the amount of different news providers had not risen.
"The law says we are to serve the public interest," said Jonathan Adelstein, one of the two Democrat commissioners on the FCC panel.
"And the public has repeatedly told us they are not interested in further media consolidation."
The new rules will apply to the largest 20 local media markets in the country.
For dual ownership of a newspaper and TV channel to be permitted under the new system, eight independently owned media businesses must exist in the market concerned, while the TV channel cannot be among the four most-watched.
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US media ownership rules relaxed
BBC News, December 18, 2007
US regulators are to relax local media ownership rules preventing firms from controlling both a TV channel and a newspaper in its largest cities.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to scrap a 32-year old rule preventing dual ownership of print and broadcast outlets in 20 cities.
In a 3-2 split vote, Republican members said the move "struck a balance" between competition and plurality.
But dissenting Democrats said it would create new loopholes, not close them.
The Republican chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin, cast the deciding vote.
He called the move a "relatively minimal loosening of the ban", adding it "may help to forestall the erosion in local news coverage".
Political issue
The issue is politically contentious, with groups within both houses of Congress pressing the FCC to delay its judgement and threatening to pass legislation to revoke the decision.
However, the White House has warned it will veto any bill coming out of Congress which waters down the proposed changes.
The decision overturns rules in place since 1975 designed to support diversity of opinion and competition among news suppliers.
Proponents of reform argued that the proliferation of cable TV channels and the growth of the internet meant such safeguards were now obsolete.
But critics said that while the number of media outlets had exploded, the amount of different news providers had not risen.
"The law says we are to serve the public interest," said Jonathan Adelstein, one of the two Democrat commissioners on the FCC panel.
"And the public has repeatedly told us they are not interested in further media consolidation."
The new rules will apply to the largest 20 local media markets in the country.
For dual ownership of a newspaper and TV channel to be permitted under the new system, eight independently owned media businesses must exist in the market concerned, while the TV channel cannot be among the four most-watched.
.
