Democratic Gains Alter Media Ownership Debate

DEMOCRATIC GAINS ALTER MEDIA OWNERSHIP DEBATE
[SOURCE: Technology Daily 1/16, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
For television, radio and newspaper outlets seeking regulatory relief from the FCC, the timing of the agency's comprehensive review of ownership limits could not be worse. When FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a deregulatory-minded Republican, initiated the review last year, the business-friendly GOP controlled both chambers of Congress. But now the Democrats are in charge, and some are flexing their muscle on the issue. "I think the election [result] is going to add additional challenges" for stations seeking relief, National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Dennis Wharton conceded. "If Martin had known the Democrats were going to take over Congress, certainly he would have moved things along faster," quipped Andrew Schwartzman, president and chief executive officer of the public-interest law firm Media Access Project, which opposes easing the rules. Schwartzman predicted that the agency, which will issue new reports on media ownership this spring, will not conclude its review until the third quarter of 2007. FCC Commissioner Copps told Technology Daily that as part of the review he will press for more public-interest obligations for broadcasters, which will be capable of offering multiple stations when they switch to digital signals in early 2009. Commissioner Copps suggested that increased consolidation may be fueling more gratuitous violence and sex on television as media conglomerates appeal to the lowest common denominator.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-XJZC1169062405650.html