The FCC has begun its quadrennial review of media ownership rules. Per Congressional decree, the rules are re-examined and adjusted every four years.
B&C’s Washington DC bureau chief John Eggerton has the goods on what the commission will be focusing on in the 2010 review:
Specifically, the FCC is looking at five rules: the local TV ownership rule, the local radio ownership rule, the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule, the radio/TV cross-ownership rule, and the dual-network rule.
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The rules can affect how many local news outlets a company like News Corp. can own in a single market.
Eggerton adds that the commission will be taking the role of the internet into account, pointing to this section of the May 25 notice of inquiry:
The Internet clearly has not wholly supplanted traditional media, such as broadcast stations, newspapers, and cable systems, but it has increased the quantity of news and programming available to consumers.
The FCC has opened up a 45 day windows to comment, after which it will propose any changes, before opening it up to more comments.