F.C.C. Opens Door to More Consolidation in TV Business
- 7 years ago
F.C.C. Opens Door to More Consolidation in TV Business
“And most Americans are unaware that the agency established to protect the public interest has traded in
that role for the chance to grant the wish lists of billion-dollar companies.”
While local news audience numbers have declined in recent years, about 57 percent of Americans get most of their news from television, with local news leading cable outlets
and national broadcasts, according to the Pew Research Center.
Mr. Pai, who was appointed by President Trump, has said the media ownership rules — including
the cross-ownership ban between newspapers and television and radio stations — was outdated.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to allow a single company to own a newspaper
and television and radio stations in the same town, reversing a decades-old rule aimed at preventing any individual or company from having too much power over local coverage.
And it’s about time.”
Democrats on the commission said that rolling back the rules would hurt people who relied on local stations for news coverage.
As part of the vote, the agency also increased the number of television stations a company could own in a local market.
“These actions on Thursday shut out our voices.”
Some academics are skeptical that the relaxation in rules will result in more robust local news coverage, as Mr. Pai envisions
“It’s a simple proposition: The media ownership regulations of 2017 should match the media marketplace of 2017,” Mr. Pai said on Thursday.
“And most Americans are unaware that the agency established to protect the public interest has traded in
that role for the chance to grant the wish lists of billion-dollar companies.”
While local news audience numbers have declined in recent years, about 57 percent of Americans get most of their news from television, with local news leading cable outlets
and national broadcasts, according to the Pew Research Center.
Mr. Pai, who was appointed by President Trump, has said the media ownership rules — including
the cross-ownership ban between newspapers and television and radio stations — was outdated.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to allow a single company to own a newspaper
and television and radio stations in the same town, reversing a decades-old rule aimed at preventing any individual or company from having too much power over local coverage.
And it’s about time.”
Democrats on the commission said that rolling back the rules would hurt people who relied on local stations for news coverage.
As part of the vote, the agency also increased the number of television stations a company could own in a local market.
“These actions on Thursday shut out our voices.”
Some academics are skeptical that the relaxation in rules will result in more robust local news coverage, as Mr. Pai envisions
“It’s a simple proposition: The media ownership regulations of 2017 should match the media marketplace of 2017,” Mr. Pai said on Thursday.