Media ownership reviewed
By David Ho
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Companies could own combinations of newspapers and television and radio stations in the same city and any one company could control TV stations reaching nearly half of U.S. homes under broad changes to media ownership rules proposed yesterday.
The proposal by the Federal Communications Commission staff was delivered to the agency's five commissioners. They have until June 2, when a vote is scheduled, to consider the recommendations.
The plan was not released to the public, but two government officials who saw it described the contents to The Associated Press.
Critics of the decades-old ownership restrictions question whether they are needed in a market changed by satellite broadcasts, cable television and the Internet. Supporters of the rules, intended to promote diverse viewpoints in the media, warn that weaker restrictions will prompt a flurry of mergers.
Among the proposed changes is one to allow a single company to own TV stations that reach 45 percent of U.S. households instead of the current 35 percent. The major networks favor eliminating any cap.
Two existing "cross-ownership" rules — one preventing a company from owning a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same city and another involving radio and TV station ownership in a market — would be rolled into a single rule that lifts most existing restrictions, the officials said.
Cross-ownership would be allowed in large and medium markets, but would face restrictions or bans in small markets.
The Newspaper Association of America and media companies such as Tribune Co. and Gannett Co. Inc., owner of The Advertiser, have sought the repeal of the newspaper "cross-ownership" rule, saying it limits combinations that can improve the quality and quantity of news and local information.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell and the two other Republican commissioners support easing regulations, a move favored by many big media companies that say the rules hurt business.
The FCC's two Democrats — Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein — say Powell is rushing through an important process that few in the public know about.
Powell has said there is no need to delay because the agency has conducted studies and gathered extensive public comment.
Consumer groups said local newspaper and broadcast markets already are highly concentrated. They said more mergers will stifle diversity by leaving a few huge companies in control.
A rule preventing mergers among the four major TV networks — NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox — would remain in place under the proposal, the officials said. The FCC eased that restriction in 2001 by allowing the major networks to combine with newer networks like WB or UPN.
