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Week of 10.6.06
Clearing The AirThe FCC held hearings this week to again consider relaxing rules of cross-ownership, with hundreds of people, including actors, writers and musicians in attendance.The public hearings on Tuesday in California aroused considerable passion as attendees clapped wildly and even booed as the five FCC commissioners sat quietly and listened for over seven hours. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin Martin, a Republican, has said he backs a repeal of the rule that restricts a company from owning both a newspaper and broadcast station in the same city. The cross-ownership restriction was repealed in 2003, when the commission also relaxed other rules restricting media growth. But the decision sparked a popular revolt, congressional action and a federal appeals court decision that resulted in the issue being sent back to the agency for reconsideration. The hearings this week were the first of six to be held around the country before the FCC makes new rules, including how many radio stations one company can own in a single market. Over 100 people who spoke at the hearings blamed media consolidation for increasing indecent programming, decreasing children's and educational shows, stifling political debate, and shutting out minorities from access to the airwaves. Others were in support of the relaxation, arguing that increased revenue derived from cross-ownership could lead to better-funded quality programming. The relaxing of media ownership rules led to several mergers and acquisitions, resulting in such deals as AOL buying Time Warner Inc. From the Hearings:
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