Mar 16 President Bush Names Kevin Martin to Head FCC By PBS News Hour President Bush on Wednesday promoted Kevin Martin, one of five commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission, to head the agency that has gained recent attention for its crackdown on broadcast indecency. Continue reading
Jan 21 FCC Chairman Michael Powell Resigns By PBS News Hour Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, who oversaw the passage of controversial media ownership rules among other matters, announced Friday he will leave his post in March after holding the job for four years. Continue reading
Nov 24 Viacom to Pay Record $3.5 Million to Settle FcCC Indecency Cases Media giant Viacom Inc. agreed Tuesday to pay a record $3.5 million to settle dozens of federal investigations into alleged indecency on its TV and radio programs. Continue reading
Jun 24 Court Orders FCC to Review Media Ownership Rules A federal appeals court on Thursday ordered the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its new media ownership rules, marking a victory for consumer advocacy groups that had opposed the ease in regulations. Continue reading
Mar 11 House Approves Tougher Broadcast Indecency Measures By Admin By a 391-22 vote, the House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation significantly raising fines for the airing of television and radio broadcasts deemed indecent. Continue reading
Dec 22 Regulators Approve News Corp.'s Takeover of DirecTV The Federal Communications Commission late Friday approved News Corp.'s $6.6 billion purchase of DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite television provider, a move critics say will lead to higher prices and less choices for consumers. Continue reading
Nov 25 White House, Congress Reach Compromise on FCC Rule Congress and the White House reached a compromise Monday night in an effort to avoid a presidential veto of a measure that would have rolled back a decision by the Federal Communications Commission to relax a key media ownership rule. Continue reading
Sep 22 FCC Approves Merger of Spanish-Language Media Companies The Federal Communications Commission on Monday approved the $3.1 billion merger of Univision, the nation's largest Spanish-language television network, and the Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., the nation's largest Spanish-language radio network. Continue reading
Sep 16 Senate Votes to Reverse New Media Rules The Republican-led Senate on Tuesday voted to rescind new federal regulations allowing media companies to own more local TV stations and newspapers in a single market and expand their national reach. Continue reading
Sep 05 Senate Panel Opposes New Federal Media Rules The Senate Appropriations Committee late Thursday approved an amendment that would prevent federal regulators from letting media companies acquire more television stations and expand their reach of the national television market. Continue reading