FCC Relaxes Media Ownership Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. In a 3-2 decision along party lines, the FCC today voted to enact sweeping relaxations of the laws regulating ownership of TV, radio and newspaper properties. The Federal Communications Commission raised the number of TV stations a network may own; removed the prohibition on newspapers owning nearby broadcast stations; and will now allow one company to own as many as three TV stations in large cities.FCC Chairman Michael Powell said that with its vote the commision had modernized its rules as compelled by critical federal courts, while "striking a careful balance that does not unduly limit transactions that promote the public interest."The commission's two Democrats issued lengthy, impassioned dissents, with Commissioner Michael Copps decrying what he called "radical deregulation." Copps said today's decision was "wrong for the media industry, wrong for the public interest, and wrong for America."Before today's vote, TV networks were limited to owning stations that reach 35 percent of U.S. TV households. Commissioners raised that figure to 45 percent, a defeat for critics who said the lower limit preserved localism in broadcasting. The vote was also a partial win for network owners such as Viacm and News Corp., which argued there should be no limits so network could freely compete with cable and satellite.Voting along with Powell were Republican commissioners Kevin Martin and Kathleen Abernathy. Jonathan Adelstein joined Copps in voting against relaxing the rules. In other votes, the FCC left undisturbed the prohibition on one of the major TV networks from buying another major network. And in recognition of unforeseen consequences from an earlier round of deregulation that abolished national ownership limits in radio, the FCC tightened rules aimed at preventing a single radio company from dominating smaller markets. Taken together, the changes represent the most profound recasting of national media ownership laws in decades.They follow scathing criticism from federal courts that have rejected five major FCC rules in recent years, saying the agency needs to better explain why its regulations serve their stated goals of promoting diversity, localism and competition. Another force for change is Congress, which in the 1996 telecommunications act directed the FCC to review its rules every two years to see whether they should be modified or eliminated.Advocates on both sides of the roiling debate leading to today's vote predicted the losers would take the new rules to court. That augurs for a long legal battle before today's decisions become final. Similarly, members of Congress in recent months have grown increasingly interested in the ownership debate, and they may mount an effort to enact legislation that would overturn the FCC's decision. The commissioners will get an early chance to test congressional waters: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees the FCC, has called them before his panel on Wednesday to explain today's vote.The FCC reached its vote after months of intense behind-the-scenes lobbying that began last September, when it said it would review a set of ownership laws together. Some of the rules under review date to the 1940s; many were cast before the Internet became a popular communications medium, and before cable and satellite TV grew to become a presence in most American homes. Those favoring relaxation of the rules said such developments dictate the need to reform media law so it conforms to a world where consumers have many choices for news and other information, and where broadcasters face intense competition from many sources.Opponents of relaxing the rules said most people still get the bulk of their news from local TV stations and from newspapers, and that the diverse arguments needed to animate democracy could suffer if fewer owners control major news outlets. This story updates a previously posted item.

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FCC Relaxes Media Ownership Rules

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