Free Republic

Note: A version of this report originally appeard at the media blog Lippmann Would Roll and also at Stop Big Media. In a blow to local journalism and quality reporting, the Federal Communications Commission is supporting an old media cross-ownership rule that allows companies to own more media outlets in communities across the country. On Wednesday, the FCC filed a brief with a U.S. appeals court defending the agency’s 2007 decision under former Chairman Kevin Martin to weaken the Newspaper-Broadcast Cross-Ownership (NBCO) Rule. The Martin NBCO Rule, which was adopted as part of the FCC’s 2006 media ownership review, is...