On December 18th, the FCC passed a rule further deregulating media:
The three Republicans on the Commission, Chairman Kevin Martin, Deborah Taylor Tate, and Robert M. McDowell voted for the rule changes, while the two Democrats — Micheal J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein — voted against the measure, despite oppositions by both parties in the Senate.
The new rule eliminated the ban on "newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership," meaning one company can now own a radio or television station and a major newspaper in the same city of town.
Despite the fact that, according to Josh Silver at Free Press, "99% of public comments did not support further consolidation," and despite the fact that, according to Tim Winter of the Parents Television Council, "Studies show newspapers do not take television and radio stations to task when they are owned by the same outlet," the FCC went ahead and gave big media companies more room to consolidate at the expense of local coverage, minority ownership, and balanced reporting.
But some in the Senate are fighting back. More info and action items after the jump...
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