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FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin
Senate Votes To Overturn FCC Cross-Ownership Order
May 16, 2008 4:41 PM
by
Josh Katz
Thursday night, the Senate passed a resolution of disapproval to throw out a Federal Communications Commission decision relaxing newspaper–broadcast media cross-ownership standards.
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In December 2007, the Republican-controlled FCC ruled 3-2 to overturn the 1978 ban on media cross-ownership and allow companies to own a newspaper and a radio or television station in the 20 largest markets in the United States. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin believed the industry had changed since 1978, and the struggling newspaper industry needed help to survive.
Newspaper executives had said the order was “too modest to be meaningful,” according to The New York Times, while some congressmen and Democrats on the FCC worried that the decision would threaten the diversity of viewpoints essential to a healthy press.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., spearheaded the Senate resolution, which is co-sponsored by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. That resolution will now proceed to the House of Representatives. However, President Bush will most likely veto any resultant bills.
Speaking for the Bush administration, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said that the FCC’s ruling from last year, "modernizes outdated media ownership regulations to appropriately take into account the plethora of news and information outlets that exist today,” and should not be overturned.
Josh Silver at The Huffington Post disagrees, writing that the Senate resolution “reflects growing awareness … of the perils of concentrated media ownership. Namely, insatiable profit pressures that gut newsrooms, replace labor-intensive investigative news with salacious, cheap-to-cover stories, and encourage the dumbing-down of the most pressing issues into 30-second sound bites and partisan shout-fests.”
Newspaper executives had said the order was “too modest to be meaningful,” according to The New York Times, while some congressmen and Democrats on the FCC worried that the decision would threaten the diversity of viewpoints essential to a healthy press.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., spearheaded the Senate resolution, which is co-sponsored by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. That resolution will now proceed to the House of Representatives. However, President Bush will most likely veto any resultant bills.
Speaking for the Bush administration, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said that the FCC’s ruling from last year, "modernizes outdated media ownership regulations to appropriately take into account the plethora of news and information outlets that exist today,” and should not be overturned.
Josh Silver at The Huffington Post disagrees, writing that the Senate resolution “reflects growing awareness … of the perils of concentrated media ownership. Namely, insatiable profit pressures that gut newsrooms, replace labor-intensive investigative news with salacious, cheap-to-cover stories, and encourage the dumbing-down of the most pressing issues into 30-second sound bites and partisan shout-fests.”
Headline Links: Senate passes resolution against FCC ruling
The Senate voted to nullify an FCC decision that allows a single media company to own a newspaper and a television station in the same market. "The Senate has struck a blow for localism and diversity in a media environment crying out for more of both," said FCC commissioner Michael Copps, who disapproved of the commission’s 2007 decision.
Source: Broadcasting & Cable
Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said that the Bush administration "strongly opposes any attempt to overturn these rules by legislative means," and the President would probably move toward a veto.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Background: The December 2007 FCC order
In December 2007, the FCC loosened regulations on newspaper executives, making it easier for them to purchase radio and television stations in the major cities. Newspaper executives said the measures didn’t go far enough, while some Democrats and congressmen thought the ruling went too far.
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
The FCC’s cross-ownership rules have long and politically complex history that dates back to Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. During the run-up to the FCC’s 2007 ruling, findingDulcinea reported on the varied political influences that have helped shape these regulations.
Source: findingDulcinea
Opinion & Analysis: On the consolidation of media
Josh Silver in The Huffington Post praises the Senate’s decision to disapprove of the FCC’s cross-ownership repeal. He writes, “The Senate vote is good news for everyone who is fed up with a media system, that, in the words of Jon Stewart, is ‘hurting America’ with propaganda pundits, embedded journalists, horse-race election coverage, and celebrity gossip posing as news.”
Source: The Huffington Post
In Ars Technica, blogger Matthew Lasar analyzes the divisiveness of the cross-ownership issue and states that it may even become a point of contention in the 2008 election. “No doubt Democratic Presidential contender Barack Obama and perhaps rival Hillary Clinton would welcome a veto override showdown. If it gets that far, we'll also find out how much the likely Republican nominee, John McCain, is willing to run against the White House.”
Source: Ars Technica
Related Topics: Murdoch, broadcast radio and satellite radio
When news emerged that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation was going to buy out New York’s Newsday newspaper, many objected. Newsday’s place in Murdoch’s media empire, containing the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal and FOX News, raised concern that it would amount to his having too much power in the industry. Murdoch has since dropped out of the Newsday bidding.
Source: findingDulcinea
The FCC has been delaying its decision on a possible merger between satellite radio providers Sirius and XM for about 15 months, “one of the longest limbo periods on record,” reports BusinessWeek.
Source: BusinessWeek
In 2004, PBS presented a program called “The Way the Music Died,” about the “perfect storm” that many say is going to kill the music industry. The storm consists of the “convergence of industry-wide consolidation, Internet theft, and artistic drought,” according to PBS.
Source: PBS
Reference: The resolution of disapproval
The Senate resolution states, “Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (CRA), Congress may review and disapprove virtually all federal agency rules. For any rule, Congress may enact a joint resolution of disapproval, in which case the rule is deemed not to have had any effect.” Furthermore, “Only one joint resolution of disapproval under the CRA has been passed by both the Senate and the House and become law, Public Law 107-5, which dealt with a rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to ergonomics.” The document is available from the Library of Congress.
Source: The Library of Congress
© 2008 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
