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:: 6.02.2003 ::
From the FCC website:
Headlines
6/2/03
FCC Sets Limits on Media Concentration: Unprecedented Public Record Results in Enforceable and Balanced Broadcast Ownership Rules.
Well, you can decide for yourself, if you feel like wading thru the whole document. It's pretty easy to read, but it's a lot of information.
Here's a snippet of FCC Chairman Powell's statement:
This proceeding has been the subject of extraordinary public attention. It is right that it has been so, for the values these rules are intended to advance are critically important to a vibrant democracy. I have heard the concerns expressed by the public about excessive consolidation.... they have introduced a note of caution in the choices we have made. Consequently, our decisions today - retaining the rule against networks merging, tightening the limits on radio ownership, and modifying, rather than eliminating, the remaining rules - are modest, albeit very significant changes.
Commissioner Abernathy gets a little more sarcastic about it:
The federal court opinions speciifically tell me that any restrictions we place on ownership musr be based on concrete evidence - not on fear and speculation about hypothetical media monopolies intent on exercising some type of Vulcan mind control over the American people.
Cuz, y'know, the liberals made all that up about ClearChannel refusing to play the Dixie Chicks on any of their 12000 radio stations throughout the US, simply because one of them said she was ashamed Bush was a Texan, too.
For the dissenting opinion, here's an excerpt from Commissioner Copps' statement:
In 1996 Congress and the FCC eliminated the national cap for radio concentration. Over the years the Commission has loosened the local radio concentration rules so that one corporation can now own up to eight stations in a market. These deregulatory changes provide the FCC with a record to study the impact of fewer media concentration protections on localism, diversity and competition.
The largest company owned less than 75 stations before deregulation. Today one company, Clear Channel, owns more than 1200 stations. This company owns eight radio stations in many cities.... The number of radio station owners has decreased by an incredible 34 percent since 1996....
Even supporters of today's decision have been heard to say that the state of radio is troubling - yet the Commission charges ahead to deregulate TV and newspapers without comprehensivley studying the results of radio concentration. The failure to do so ignores critical information that is both relevant to these rules and that suggests the rules we vote on today are a mistake. (emphasis added)
:: Deb 2:51 PM :: permalink ::
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