FCC Commissioner Tells Kansas Association of Broadcasters that Retaining Newspaper-Broadcast Cross-Ownership rule is a ‘Profound Mistake’

Speaking to the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai said, “I can’t help but mention the FCC’s decision this year to retain the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule. Put simply, it makes no sense for the federal government to discourage investment in the newspaper industry. But that’s precisely what the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule does. It’s particularly unfortunate because broadcasters are well-situated to partner with newspapers. The reason is simple. Investments in newsgathering are more likely to be profitable when a company can distribute information over multiple platforms. This is not just a theory. Because the FCC grandfathered newspaper-broadcast combinations that predated the 1975 adoption of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule, we have evidence from across the United States. There are at least 15 studies demonstrating that newspaper-television cross-ownership increases the quantity and/or quality of news broadcast by cross-owned television stations.”