FCC At It Again, Working to Change Media Ownership Rules
FCC Chair, Kevin MartinMost of us tend to think of the Federal Communications Commission as a bunch of puritanical dorks obsessed with protecting the American viewing and listening public from exploding f-bombs and flashing areolas—Think former FCC Chair Michael Powell’s outraged denouncement of Janet Jackson after her Super Bowl Sunday titty flap in 2004.
But as the FCC road show pulled into Chicago yesterday for the fifth of six public hearings on media ownership, news sources from the NewYork Times to the International Herald Tribune reminded us all of the very real power wielded by the five FCC commissioners.
In essence, the FCC, led by Chairman Kevin Martin, is gunning to eliminate rules forbidding a single company to own both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city. It would mean a big victory for media executives such as Samuel Zell, who’s looking to buy out the Tribune Co., and Rupert Murdoch, who controls both The New York Post and a Fox television station in New York.
Those of us who get all riled up about these things worry, and rightly so, that concentration of ownership will snuff out diversity in news reporting and television and radio programming. That a single corporate editorial view will prevail and concern for the public good will fall by the way side. That local news will become a thing of the past.
When the commission tried this three years ago, with Powell in charge, it suffered a fairly humiliating defeat in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The FCC’s credibility was damaged and seven months later Powell quit to spend more time with his family.
And he walked right into an executive position at Providence Equity Partners, which, go figure, manages $9 billion worth of equity from media and telecommunications companies.
Media regulation reform ain’t sexy and it’s not likely to get much play among the presidential candidates, but “Digital Destiny” by Jeff Chester and “Fighting for Air" by Eric Klinenberg both do a great job of laying out what’s at stake. And it's a lot.veracifier, Kevin Brannon, FCC, Kevin Martin, Media Ownership
I have seen Kevin Martin once time in Los Angeles at a Town Hall meeting, because he declined to come another time. At the meeting 100% of citizen testimony was against further deregulation. Kopps said that about 99% were against further deregulation but at the meeting it was 100%. There were some big media sponsored panelists who spoke quickly then left because they did not want to experience the wrath of the populace. He did not want to be confronted by the people and did not say much. My opinion is that he is spineless and gutless and prefers to work behind the scenes to promote his agenda.