Panel OKs proposal to restore media rules

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: adam beecher <d () ddy beecher net>
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 09:03:24 +0100
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Panel OKs proposal to restore media rules

Panel OKs proposal to restore media rules

by Greg Gatlin
Friday, June 20, 2003

A bipartisan U.S. Senate Commerce committee approved a bill yesterday that
would reinstate media ownership rules - just three weeks after the Federal
Communications Commission voted to ease them.

Passage of the bill, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and
Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), is far from certain in the Senate and faces
greater hurdles in the House.

``We have absolutely no intentions of taking up the Senate bill,'' said Ken
Johnson, an aide to House Commerce Chairman William ``Billy'' Tauzin, the
powerful Louisiana Republican. ``Supporters of the legislation have a number
of avenues to pursue in trying to pass the bill, but at the same token,
we've got a few tricks up our sleeve as well. It's going to be a long,
contentious chess match.''

Opponents of media deregulation heralded the approval as a major victory in
their effort to get Congress to roll back the FCC's vote earlier this month,
which made it easier for broadcasters to buy more TV stations and reach more
viewers. In its June 2 vote, the FCC also eliminated a ban on one company
owning a newspaper and broadcast station in the same city, except for in
small markets.

``I think this is the most significant defeat that the nation's biggest
media companies have witnessed in decades,'' said Jeff Chester, who runs the
Center for Digital Democracy. ``We're going to mobilize immediately to push
for a full Senate vote.''

John Sturm, chief executive of the Newspaper Association of America, which
has lobbied in support of ending the cross-ownership ban, called the vote
``disappointing.'' He said newspaper-broadcast station combinations have a
record of offering strong local news, in cases where those have been
allowed.

Privately, some deregulation opponents offered a less sanguine view of the
bill's chances of passing both chambers and being signed into law.

The long-standing rules were aimed at promoting diversity on the airwaves
and in newspaper pages, as well as localism and competition.

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/business/fcc06202003.htm


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