Markey Releases GAO Letter on Media Ownership

MARKEY RELEASES GAO LETTER ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
A Government Accountability Office study on media ownership isn't due to be released until early next year, but House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who commissioned the study, got the GAO to weigh in early with some of its conclusions, which include that "reliable data on ownership by minorities and women are lacking," but that such ownership is "limited." It also found that programming-sharing agreements between stations suggest that the number of independently owned outlets might not always be a good indicator of how many independently produced shows there are.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6513413.html?rssid=193

* GAO Letter
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-330R

* Rep Ed Markey (D-MA): "It is past time for the FCC to address our nation’s abysmal record on female- and minority-owned broadcast media. The FCC should work diligently to address this important public policy matter soon. Further, the FCC must take action to improve its data collection and management program so that in the future, better and more comprehensive data are available upon which to base policy decisions. If the FCC proceeds with a vote tomorrow on media ownership issues, I urge all the commissioners to weigh carefully the impact of any new rules or waiver standards on the historic policy values of diversity and localism. Our democracy relies upon an informed citizenry and there are few issues that the FCC will address that will have a more profound impact on our civic institutions than the media ownership proposals that may be voted upon tomorrow.”
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3229&Itemi...

* GAO Exposes Lack of Media Diversity
Free Press: "This report confirms that female and minority media ownership is in a state of crisis — the direct result of the Federal Communications Commission’s failure to uphold its mandate to foster media diversity. The simple fact is that Chairman Kevin Martin’s FCC has never bothered to even count the number of female and minority owners, much less study the impact of media consolidation on ownership levels. Nevertheless, Chairman Martin recently admitted to the Senate Commerce Committee that media consolidation likely has a negative impact on minority and female ownership. The idea that the FCC would vote now to scrap the current ownership limits in light of the harm to minority and female owners is an outrage. It is simply impossible to promote ownership diversity and permit further media consolidation at the same time. History will not look kindly on those who attempt to ignore this reality."
http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=320