Murdoch too powerful for government regulators

The dirty little secret about Rupert Murdoch's plan to add Newsday to his stable of New York media properties is that there's little anybody can do to stop him. In the topsy-turvy world of media regulation, Murdoch or any other media baron can own a TV station and then buy a newspaper in the same market, and there's not much federal regulators can do about it directly. The Federal Communications Commission doesn't have the power to review Murdoch's bid to purchase the Long Island-based newspaper in advance. But when Murdoch's TV stations in the area come up for license renewal, the panel will be able to consider whether his purchase of Newsday is in the public interest. The forces that oppose Murdoch -- because he's Murdoch or because they fear an increasingly consolidated media market -- are in luck. News Corp. last year asked the FCC to renew its licenses to operate TV outlets WNEW and WWOR. News Corp. likely would need a waiver or may have to sell something to purchase Newsday since the new rule specifically said it allows the ownership of one station and one newspaper, not two stations. Then again, maybe not. The way the rule is written, a broadcast baron can buy a newspaper. There's also a question about just what market is served by the different media properties. The purchase would get challenged during the license renewal. Let's just say the FCC determines that it's bad for the public. Murdoch can then ask for a hearing before an administrative law judge. If News Corp. asks for an administrative hearing -- which it would -- and loses, the deal then would get a review by the full commission. If News Corp. loses at the commission and the FCC says it has to sell some property, then the company would go straight to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been hankering for a media-ownership case. Whoever loses there would take the case to the Supreme Court.
http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSN2445137620080425