US: FCC to make decision on media-ownership ban
The Federal Communications Commissions chairman Kevin Martin believes that newspapers are “an endangered species.” He explains that the media market place has changed drastically and that changes must be made to keep with the market in order to save newspapers.
Martin gives many statistics that prove his theory that newspapers are on the decline. He points out that over the past 30 years 300 daily papers have stopped publishing and that circulation has declined progressively over the past 10 years. In just the last six months, circulation is down 2.6%.
Martin feels that “if we don’t act to improve the health of the newspaper industry, we will see newspapers whither and die.” That is why Martin hopes that the Federal Communications Commission will modify the following law which is under review: the law that bars ownership of both a newspaper and a broadcast TV or radio station within a single market. He feels that the rule should only be modified for the largest markets. According to a timetable of the FCC, Martin should publicly reveal his reform plans this week.
Martin believes that the loosening of the present ban would “ help strike a balance between ensuring the quality of local news while guarding against too much concentration.” Right now, Martin thinks that the ban could be hurting the quality of news since newspapers that are having financial problems have no choice but to scale back, therefore hurting the quality of news. However, if the ban was loosened, newspapers and TV stations owned by the same company could split costs.
As of now, many newspapers and broadcast stations are owned together and working under waivers of the ban on cross-ownership. One example of this is Tribune Co, who currently has waivers in five markets nationally, owning both newspapers and broadcast stations. If the ban were loosened Tribune Co. would receive the necessary regulatory approvals and continue with its sale to real estate mogul Sam Zell. If the changes do not pass, Tribune Co. will have to renew their waivers in order for Zell to take over.
However, this could be a problem, considering Martin has faced much opposition to making the reforms from public interest groups, Democratic members of the FCC, and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Source: Smart Money through I Want Media
The New York Times through I Want Media
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Yay - I am glad these sites are getting funded and continue to exist. As a writer trying to break into a niche market, if I didn't have these other outlets, I'd really be struggling to make it.
Cheers,
Julie