Will O.J. Fallout Affect Cross-media Ownership Rules?

WILL O.J. FALLOUT AFFECT CROSS-MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES?
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Claire Atkinson]
Even though Fox Broadcasting's O.J. special was canceled, it still may have done lasting harm to the broadcast industry. The backlash comes at a sensitive time for broadcasters, which have been battling the belief that cross-media ownership gives them too much power -- and some fear the incident gives ammunition to their foes. The Federal Communications Commission is reconsidering rules that determine whether media companies can own more than two TV stations in a market, as well as whether those that own radio stations and newspapers should also be allowed to own TV stations. News Corp.'s Fox is at the forefront of a broadcast-network-TV push to be allowed to buy more of its affiliate stations. "Think about how much O.J. they could have crammed in if they owned three TV stations, eight radio stations and the local paper in your town," said Craig Aaron, communications director for Free Press, a group campaigning against loosening of the rules. "It certainly doesn't help Big Media's case for throwing out the rules."
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article.php?article_id=113468

See also --
* People Power Forced Rupert Murdoch to Abandon O.J.
[SOURCE: AdAge 11/26, AUTHOR: Matthew Creamer and Claire Atkinson]
American consumers sent a very clear message last week to Rupert Murdoch and the rest of the media world: We have standards. They may be low and not terribly visible, but we do have them.
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=113471

* How the O.J. Debacle Restored a Bit of Faith in the Media
http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=113452

* The O.J. Lesson: Ad Agencies Should Use Their Clout More Often
http://adage.com/smallagency/article?article_id=113472

RINTELS ON O.J. FLAP: "THE DARK SIDE OF SYNERGY"
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable 11/20, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Jonathan Rintels, president of The Center for Creative Voices in Media, sees a link between media consolidation and the growing flap over Fox's O.J. Simpson If I Did It sweeps special, calling it the "dark side of synergy." While a growing number of Fox affiliates say they won't carry the show, he says he has heard of no network-owned station who has dropped out. "Stations owned by the national network don't preempt for taste reasons or content reasons content that their network is putting out there," he says, a check and balance that is missing because of consolidation. Rintels and company argue that a lot of the indecency complaints can be traced to formerly locally owned stations bought up by the networks after the FCC lifted the ownership caps.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6393555.html?display=Breaking...