FCC Relaxes Media Ownership Rules,

Senate Pushes Back

By Norris Dickard

June 2003

In early June, a bitterly divided Federal CommunicationÍs Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to loosen the rules that govern ownership of the nation's media.

The FCC is the regulatory body that sets the structural limits on who can own what in the media arena. Congress has mandated that the nation's media ownership rules protect "localism, competition, and diversity in the media."

Proponents of the deregulatory course the FCC has set in motion say the existing rules cannot withstand court challenges and are obsolete in the brave new media world of the Internet, cable, and satellite TV. Vocal opponents of deregulation fear that a greater consolidation of ownership will lead to fewer media voices and less local news, threatening democracy in the digital age. Others more neutral in the debate have been concerned about the pace of the FCC deliberation and the openness of the process.

Before the vote, the FCC was flooded with electronic comments and cards from ordinary citizens affiliated with groups that represent the far right, far left, and everything in between of the political spectrum. This prompted Brent Bozell, President of the conservative Parents Television Council, to aptly comment on opposition that included both the National Rifle Association and the National Organization for Women: ñWhen all of us are united on an issue, then one of two things has happened. Either the Earth has spun off its axis and we have all lost our minds or there is universal support for a concept.î A previously published Benton article raised concerns about how the FCC considers these comments.

FCC Commissioner Copps discussed this issue in his strongly worded dissent on the FCC vote and concluded his statement with these words:

Some have characterized the fight against this seemingly pre-ordained decision as quixotic and destined to defeat. But I think, instead, that weÍll look back at this 3-2 vote as a pyrrhic victory. This CommissionÍs drive to loosen the rules and its reluctance to share its proposals with the people before we voted awoke a sleeping giant. American citizens are standing up in never-before-seen numbers to reclaim their airwaves and to call on those who are entrusted to use them to serve the public interest. In these times when many issues divide us, groups from right to left, Republicans and Democrats, concerned parents and creative artists, religious leaders, civil rights activists, and labor organizations have united to fight together on this issue. Senators and Congressmen from both parties and from all parts of the Country have called on the Commission to reconsider.

Indeed, many members of Congress not only called on the FCC to reconsider they started to advance legislation to undo what the FCC had done. The Senate Commerce Committee passed legislation to reinstate certain media ownership limits at a June 19th meeting. Other members are introducing different measures as well. One, a rarely used parliamentary procedure called a ñresolution of disapprovalî would, if passed by Congress, repeal the FCCÍs decision.

Advocacy groups have begun a campaign to educate and mobilize their members, awakening ñthe sleeping giant.î

For more information on the media ownership debate and links to other organizations working on the issue visit Benton's media ownership initiative page.

Norris Dickard is the director of public policy at the Benton Foundation.