home

Media Deregulation On Its Way

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Sun May 11, 2003 at 08:29:36 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

On June 2, the FCC is planning to relax rules designed to keep the nation's media from being controlled by just a few owners. This is bad. The bottom line will be a media that is owned by very few -- and the likelihood of their corporate agenda reflecting the liberal ideology is nil. There is still time to register your protests.

At the Wednesday, May 7, 2003 City Council meeting, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution 50-0 calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to "protect the public's right to diversity in media content, ownership and employment" by prohibiting further media consolidation. The resolution cautions that media consolidation results in lost jobs, reduced diversity in programming and ownership, and less commitment to the local community.

From Sunday's Chicago Tribune, here are the rules as they now exist (although many have already been avoided by grandfathering or waivers):

Newspaper-broadcast concentration: A corporation can't own a daily newspaper and a radio or TV station in the same market. National TV concentration: No corporation may own stations that together reach more than 35 percent of U.S. TV households.

TV duopoly protection: A corporation can't own more than one of the top four TV stations in a market.

Multiple-network concentration: None of the four largest networks--ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX--may merge with another.

Radio-TV concentration: No corporation may own more than two TV stations and six radio stations in the same market, or, in large markets, one TV station and seven radio stations.

Local radio concentration: In large markets, no corporation may own more than eight radio stations.

Source: Federal Communications Commission
For more on why this is particularly bad for liberal thought, go over to Ruminate This for Lisa English's analysis and Avedon Carol's We Want the Airwaves. Also check out Eric Boehlert's articles at Salon, and these articles, all by different authors:

Showdown at the FCC;
The Media, The War, and Our Right to Know;
The Gathering Storm Over Media Ownership;
The Media Companies' FCC Wishlist;
Media Democracy Moment;

This is not a done deal, although it's close. Visit one of the many action centers, click here or here to make your voice heard.

< Smoke-Free Marijuana | 'Tell Mama' by Monica Lewinsky >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Media Deregulation On Its Way | 0 comments ( topical)