Tribune keeps Fighting TV, Newspaper Ownership Ban

TRIBUNE KEEPS FIGHTING TV, NEWSPAPER OWNERSHIP BAN
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
Tribune Co. keeps battling U.S. regulations that prevent it from owning a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same market even as its largest shareholder has asked the company to split its divisions or find a buyer. Tribune owns the Los Angeles Times newspaper and KTLA-TV, and has cross-media platforms in four other cities. Its ownership of the two lucrative properties in Los Angeles is a rare exception to the 1975 ban, but it will expire when the television station's broadcast license comes up for renewal later this year. Vincent Malcolm, general manager of KTLA-TV, said the explosion of Internet sites, cable television and other sources for local news renders the ban obsolete. Malcolm also said the depth of reporting at KTLA on community issues had improved by having the resources of a major metropolitan newspaper. "The L.A. Times has more reporters than any television station could afford especially in the case of KTLA," he said. Tribune has asked the FCC for a waiver for its common ownership in Los Angeles, either permanently or at least until the FCC decides on new limits. Consumer groups are unconvinced cross-ownership should be allowed. They say further consolidation in the media industry would snuff out independent voices and degrade local news. "The newspaper-TV combinations that result dominate the local market, raising concerns about undue economic concentration and inordinate influence over public opinion," said Mark Cooper, director of research at the Consumer Federation of America
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