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FCC OKs Media Cross-Ownership

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By JOHN DUNBAR, The Associated Press

Published: December 19, 2007

WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission, overturning a 32-year-old ban, voted Tuesday to allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was joined by his two Republican colleagues in favor of the proposal, and the commission's two Democrats voted against it.

Martin pushed the vote through despite pressure from House and Senate members to delay it. The chairman, however, has the support of the White House, which has pledged to turn back any congressional action that seeks to undo the vote.

Under Martin's proposal, one entity will be permitted to own a newspaper and one broadcast station in the same market. It must be among the 20 largest media markets in the nation, and after the transaction, at least eight independently owned-and-operated media voices must remain. In addition, the television station cannot be among the top four in the market.

At Tuesday's meeting, the chairman described the media ownership proceeding as "the most contentious and divisive issue" to come before the commission. That proved true as the two Democrats blasted Martin's plan in unusually strong language for the normally sedate agency.

Martin said his proposal represented "a relatively minor loosening" of the cross-ownership rule. He noted concern for the decline in revenue for newspaper companies and said his proposal "strikes a balance" between the realities of the changing media marketplace and the preservation of diversity and competition in broadcasting.

As the commission loosened ownership requirements on one industry, it tightened the reins on another by approving a 30 percent national cap on subscribers for cable companies. The move, opposed by cable companies, would prevent a single cable TV provider from serving 30 percent or more of the national pay television audience.

Martin was joined by the two Democrats in voting in favor of the cap, and the two other Republicans on the commission were opposed.

Democrats Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein blasted Martin for making changes to his media cross-ownership proposal "in the dead of night" and just before the meeting that they said created new loopholes in the rule instead of closing them, as Martin pledged during a recent hearing on Capitol Hill.

"Anybody who thinks our processes are open, thoughtful or deliberative should think twice in light of these nocturnal escapades," Adelstein said. He said Martin's proposal "will allow for waivers for six new newspaper-broadcast combinations and 36 grandfathered stations."

In a lengthy statement, Copps described the commission's action as a "terrible decision."

"In the final analysis, the real winners today are businesses that are, in many cases, quite healthy, and the real losers are going to be all of us who depend on the news media to learn what's happening in our communities and to keep an eye on local government," Copps said.

Republican Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate described the media ownership process as "transparent and thorough." She said the changes proposed are narrow and hinted she favors a greater liberalization of the rules.

Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell also defended the proposal, noting the explosion of new media in the marketplace and the agency's lengthy review.

The cross-ownership ban was approved by the FCC in 1975 to serve "the twin goals of diversity of viewpoints and economic competition."

In Tampa, Media General owns WFLA, Channel 8, and The Tampa Tribune. The company owned both prior to the ban and was not affected.

On Monday, 25 senators, including four Republicans, sent Martin a letter threatening that if he went ahead with the vote, they would move legislation to revoke the rule and nullify the commission's action.

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