Media companies to lobby Trump for loosening of cross-ownership rules

Count local TV station owners among the industries emboldened by President-elect Donald Trump. In changing of the guards at the White House, the local TV industry sees an opportunity in their ongoing quest to toss out the Federal Communication Commission's rules on media cross-ownership that bar media companies from owning newspapers and TV stations in the same market.

The National Association of Broadcasters, a trade group for TV station owners, "is cautiously optimistic a Trump FCC will take a fresh look at reforming outdated local broadcast ownership rules," said Dennis Wharton, NAB's executive vice president of media relations. "These are 'I Love Lucy' era rules in a 'Modern Family' world." The rules, devised in 1975, specifically prohibit media companies from owning a newspaper and a TV station in the same local market. Companies are also barred from owning more than one top-4-in-ratings TV station in any market.