H.R. 4835 Media Ownership Act

Submitted by Benton Foundation on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 12:48
Last updated: Tue, 03/04/2008 - 11:52

Summary

The legislation would:

Require the FCC to publish any proposed revisions to its media ownership rules at least 90 days prior to a vote.
Require at least 60 days for public comment and the FCC must respond to these comments within 30 days.
Require the FCC to complete a separate proceeding to evaluate the effects of consolidation on broadcast localism before any vote.
Require the establishment of an independent panel on female and minority ownership. The panel would provide data and offer recommendations to the FCC on how to increase female and minority ownership. The FCC must receive and act on these recommendations prior to voting on any proposed ownership rules.
The bill applies to any attempt to alter rules made by the FCC after October 1, 2007.

Read full text of the bill.

Updates

January 17, 2008: The Congressional Budget Office estimated that implementing the Media Ownership Act of 2007 (S. 2332) would cost less than $500,000

* 12/18/07: Referred to the House Committee on Commerce.

Resources

S. 2332 Media Ownership Act of 2007

Supporters

Sponsors:
Dave Reichert (R-WA)
Jay Inslee (D-WA)

Co-sponsors:
Rep DeFazio, Peter A. (D-OR)
Rep Udall, Tom (D-NM)
Rep Waters, Maxine (D-CA)
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. (D-CA)

* Free Press: "We are encouraged to see members of the House from both sides of the aisle joining their Senate colleagues in standing up for the vast majority of Americans who oppose media consolidation. In the rush to reward Big Media, the FCC has ignored the public will and defied the Congress. This crucial legislation would reverse the FCC’s actions, fix the broken policymaking process, and help ensure that the public airwaves reflect America’s diverse local communities. This bill should be at the top of the priority list when Congress returns in 2008."

Detractors

Date

December 19, 2007