FCC destroys inconvenient report on localism

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Aleecia M. McDonald" <aleecia () aleecia com>
Date: September 17, 2006 5:50:54 AM JST
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: FCC destroys inconvenient report on localism

Hi Professor Farber,

For IP if you wish.
Good luck with your travels.

        Aleecia

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060914/ap_on_go_ot/media_ownership

Excerpts:

The Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy  
all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of  
media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage, a former lawyer at  
the agency says.

...

The analysis showed local ownership of television stations adds  
almost five and one-half minutes of total news to broadcasts and more  
than three minutes of "on-location" news. The conclusion is at odds  
with FCC arguments made when it voted in 2003 to increase the number  
of television stations a company could own in a single market. It was  
part of a broader decision liberalizing ownership rules.

At that time, the agency pointed to evidence that "commonly owned  
television stations are more likely to carry local news than other  
stations."

When considering whether to loosen rules on media ownership, the  
agency is required to examine the impact on localism, competition and  
diversity. The FCC generally defines localism as the level of  
responsiveness of a station to the needs of its community.

...

Yanich said the report was "extremely well done. It should have  
helped to inform policy."

Boxer's office said if she does not receive adequate answers to her  
questions, she will push for an investigation by the FCC inspector  
general.


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