Americans oppose media market concentration

AMERICANS OPPOSE MEDIA MARKET CONCENTRATION
[SOURCE: Reuters]
More than half of Americans surveyed said it should be illegal for a company to own both a newspaper and a television station in the same market, a coalition of consumer and telecommunications advocacy groups said on Wednesday. The Media and Democracy Coalition released its survey the same day the Federal Communications Commission was due to hold a public meeting on media ownership. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants the agency to decide by December 18 on whether to ease limits on how many media outlets a company may own in one market. Longstanding FCC rules restrict cross-ownership and ban ownership of a newspaper and a TV or radio station in the same market without an FCC waiver. The survey found 57 percent of respondents favored laws against a company owning a paper and TV station in the same market. That level of support was roughly the same among the political liberals, moderates and conservatives surveyed. The survey also showed 70 percent of respondents described media consolidation as a problem.
http://www.reuters.com/article/mediaNews/idUSN3021162020071031

* Public Rally for Better Media
http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=293

* NOW President Kim Gandy to Testify at FCC Hearing, Speak at Rally for Better Media
http://www.now.org/press/10-07/10-30.html