Category: media ownership & consolidation

The FCC held one of its media localism hearings (about a year too late, I’ll add) in Charlotte, NC yesterday. The Raliegh News Observer ran a story in anticipation of the hearing, with the headline, “Broadcaster wary of bias at hearing.” That broadcaster, Rick Jackson, president of the N.C. Association of Broadcasters, explained his wariness…

On Friday the FCC announced that they were delaying their review of the proposed acquisition of direct-satellite TV provider DirecTV by Rupert Murdoch’s omnivorous News Corp. Reportedly, Ken Feree, FCC media bureau chief, said the agency will be requesting more documentation and will be consulting further with the Justice Dept’s antitrust division. One has to…

A company that owns two TV stations in Central Illinois, Nexstar, last week shut down the news operations for two stations in Billings, MT it’s acquiring, before the ink on the paperwork was even dry. I try to keep tabs on what our local media owners are doing all over the country, because it’s generally…

I just found this great media ownership tool put together by the Center for Public Integrity. It’s the “Well Connected” database of owners for all radio and TV stations in the US, broken down by geographic area. Just pop in your zip or city name and go. It even gives you a nifty little pie…

Our local daily student newspaper, the Daily Illini, ran an utterly bland, shallow and barely informed article attempting to assess what affect the FCC’s new ownership rules might have on our local media scene. The title is: “Media ownership in C-U not likely to chance with FCC rules.” And, if the article actually had any…

This morning the Senate finally voted 55 to 40 in favor of a resolution of disapproval on the FCC’s June 2 loosening of media ownership rules. If passed by the House and signed by the president, the resolution negates the new rules. This vote doesn’t quite represent the 2/3 majority support needed if Bush decides…

A three justice panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia today blocked the implementation of the FCC’s new loosened media ownership rules, which were supposed to go into effect tomorrow. The block was prompted by the numerous legal challenges that have been mounted against the rules. The Court’s order said, “Given the…

During last year’s Reclaim the Media Conference in Seattle — coincident with the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Convention — the ‘mosquito fleet’ of six unlicensed micropower radio stations simultaneously broadcast a Negativland-produced 24 minute jab at Clear Channel’s KJR-FM, taking the station to task for playing lots of 80s song in their “Superhits of…

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, the staunchest opponent against loosening media ownership rules on the Commission, released his own statement in answer to Chairman Powell’s announcment of a new “task force” to study the effect of media consolidation on localism. The man says it best himself: “This proposal is a day late and a dollar short.…

Today FCC Chair Mikey Powell held a press conference announcing the formation of a task force to study the effect of media consolidation on localism, especially local TV news. He acknowledged the public and Congressional outcry over the recent rules changes and even promised that the task force will hold public hearings. Finally, Powell promised…