House Judiciary Committee Chairman denounces FCC media rules

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) tore into the Federal Communications Commission's updated media ownership rules. The FCC’s rules dictate that entities cannot own both a newspaper and broadcast station in the same market. The requirement isn’t new, but the FCC decided in August to keep the regulation in place after a review. In a statement, Chairman Goodlatte said the FCC had “overreacted” and that it was “likely to harm the objectives of smaller media outlets eager to compete.” “Today, the FCC continues its recent tradition of advancing unnecessary and burdensome regulations on a partisan basis while ignoring new technologies and market realities, with the likely outcome of harming competition,” he said.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) also noted its disappointment on the ruling in a letter to the FCC, and the group later sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the agency for documents regarding the decision. The NAB characterized the FCC’s decision as a “ ‘head in the sand’ approach” to the media marketplace.