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FCC MEDIA
OWNERSHIP UPDATE
(download
as a Word file)
FCC
Rule Changes
On
June 2nd, the Republican-controlled FCC voted 3-2 along
party lines to ease restrictions on big media corporations,
despite objections from their fellow commissioners, members
of Congress and the public. The vote brings about the following
changes:
1)
Cross-media limits have been loosened so that dual ownership
of a daily newspaper and TV station would be permitted
in markets with more than 4 television stations. In markets
with 9 or more TV stations, the ban on cross-ownership
has been lifted altogether.
2)
Local TV ownership rules have been changed so companies
can own 3 stations in markets with 18 or more TV stations.
In markets with 5 or more TV stations, a company can own
2 stations. (An owner of a station rated in the top four
cannot purchase another in the top four.)
3)
The national cap on TV station ownership has been lifted
from the 35% limit to allow companies to own stations that
combined reach 45% of the national audience. However, by
retaining a formula that discounts viewers of UHF stations,
the change permits a network to reach as much as 90% of
the nation's TV audience over all.
What's next?
The
weeks leading up to the June 2 vote ignited new interest
in the movement for media justice and reform as more Americans
began to hear what was happening to our nation's media system.
While the FCC voted against the public interest, the issue
is still very much alive! The new battleground is Congress.
Below is a summary of legislative efforts that challenge
or otherwise affect the FCCÕs decision:
Senate
Bill 1046: This bipartisan bill would roll back the
national broadcast ownership cap to 35%. It includes an
amendment sponsored by Senators Dorgan (D-ND) and Snowe
(R-ME) that reinstates newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership
restrictions. Dorgan has also threatened to invoke the
Congressional Review Act, a rare move to force the issue
to the Senate floor.
H.R.
2052 is a companion bill to the above Senate bill,
sponsored by Reps. Richard Burr (R-NC) and John Dingell
(D-MI), that seeks to roll back the national ownership
limit to 35%. It has the support of 124 bi-partisan co-sponsors.
Senate
Bill 1264: The FCC Reauthorization Act, introduced
by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Ernest Hollings (D-SC),
includes provisions that would increase the period of
the FCC's review of media ownership rules from 2 years
to 5 years; increased enforcement and penalty provisions,
and new prohibitions against FCC officials and staff from
accepting travel and entertainment payments or reimbursements
from the industries it regulates.
Another
House bill, H.R. 2462 ("Protect Diversity in Media
Act") has been introduced by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
that would reinstate the prior limitations on media ownership
prior to the June 2nd FCC vote, and takes media ownership
out of the FCCÕs jurisdiction.
Call your Congress people and tell them to stand
up to big media and support measures to restore reasonable
limits on corporate media ownership. These are important
first steps in the legislative fight to take back the power
from big media. There are many more ahead. We are building
momentum and support with each step towards a democratic
and just media.
Want
to know more about fighting the power of big media?
Check out these other sites:
Center
for Digital Democracy • Free
Press • Reclaim
the Media
Stay Tuned for more info!
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