FCC may look to redefine how it measures media concentration

LA Times ^ | October 21, 2009 | Joe Flint

[a fool in paradise]

The Federal Communications Commission has unveiled the topics it is looking to discuss as it considers revising its media ownership rules, and one area it is looking to explore could have ramifications for future mergers between broadcast and cable companies and newspaper companies.

Specifically, the FCC said it will probe whether it could continue to enforce regulations regarding media concentration by industry or should it find an "alternative structure to determine an ownership limit for all media within a relevant market."

Cutting through the bureaucratic speak, what the FCC is saying is that currently it regulates broadcast, radio and cable as separate businesses and now wants to know if in some areas there should be a one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme when it comes to determining media concentration...

The FCC did not provide details on just what it meant by "relevant market." Does it mean a particular city or an industry? If it means a city, then that would probably be good news to the business because those regulations are pretty tight already. But if it means an industry, that might be bad news. Figuring out how the FCC operates is not fun. There are lots of contradictions. For example, a company can only own one full-service broadcast network but can own as many cable networks as it wants. And before you remind me that broadcasters are regulated because they use public airwaves while cable networks don't, the FCC also says a company can't own a newspaper and TV in the same city, and yet last time I looked the FCC doesn't regulate the newspaper industry. (Tribune Co., the Los Angeles Times' parent, has waivers for its newspaper and TV combinations in several cities.)

[a fool in paradise]

Considering how much of the media is consolidated in a few corporate hands, I don’t think that ownership of the local affiliates really matters so much.

And Bill Clinton did NOT work to prevent monopolies, his administration approved newspaper buyouts that left some major cities with only one daily paper. Seems like a monopoly to me (no new papers have stepped in to fill the void).

[MissEdie]

And Congressman Jim Clyburn’s daughter is so qualified to work for the FCC. NOT

[La Lydia]

This is only marginally about media concentration. This is about finding a regulatory means to stifle talk radio, government control of the media and to impose the kinds of ideas advocated by Obamoid Mark Lloyd, who has argued that public broadcasting outlets in the United States should be funded on a level equal to the funding of private broadcasting companies—with the money coming from licensing fees levied on private broadcasters by the government. He has proposed the “fees” be set at a rate of 100 percent of the private broadcasters operating budgets. This is also about bankrupting local stations and bringing about their forced sale to “minority” and “community” owners. This is about as corrupt and anti-democratic as you can get.

[Buckeye McFrog]

this is a back-door way of going after Clear Channel, since they own billboards, concert venues, etc. Count up all their billboards then decree that they must divest themselves of radio stations.

[Freddd]

Remember what Mark Lloyd said.........who will step aside (white) to let blacks be the owners?

‘alternative structure to determine an ownership’.....

[GraceG]

>> This is only marginally about media concentration. This is about finding a regulatory means to stifle talk radio, government control of the media and to impose the kinds of ideas advocated by Obamoid Mark Lloyd, who has argued that public broadcasting outlets in the United States should be funded on a level equal to the funding of private broadcasting companies—with the money coming from licensing fees levied on private broadcasters by the government. He has proposed the “fees” be set at a rate of 100 percent of the private broadcasters operating budgets. This is also about bankrupting local stations and bringing about their forced sale to “minority” and “community” owners. This is about as corrupt and anti-democratic as you can get. <<

Maybe we should see what we can do to get Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams a few radio stations of their own if this garbage ever passes...

[La Lydia]

There is a difference between owning and running a radio station, which is a business, and being an effective on-air talent. It would be a huge waste of their time and talents to have to manage and run a radio station.

[Congressman Billybob]

This article is absolutely incompetent in describing what the FCC is doing. I have been following this closely for a client. The FCC has a biased computer model that was developed to produce the desired result -- no diversity. Then, the FCC intends to force more black and latino ownership at the local level, to increase diversity. THAT is the fame being played.

Congressman Billybob

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