Media Ownership and the Public Interest

USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy and the New America Foundation’s Media Policy Initiative
Thursday, January 24, 2013
2:00pm - 4:00pm
http://www.newamerica.net/events/2013/media_ownership_and_the_public_int...

The Federal Communications Commission's proposed change of media ownership rules has once again stirred debate in Washington. At issue is whether to relax the ban on mergers between a newspaper and a TV station in the same market.

On one side, those in favor of the change say that allowing the weaker TV stations in the top 20 markets to merge with newspapers is hardly a radical move, and that it might actually improve news viability in those markets. On the other side, opponents argue that there is too much media consolidation as it is now. They point to ample evidence that greater consolidation will constrain the already limited opportunities for entry in many markets.

There are more than two sides to the argument. Some question the value of debating regulations on what they consider to be the dinosaurs of old media, and seek an updated approach to contemporary media regulations. Still others caution that we lack sufficient research to understand the impact of the proposed rule change on the public interest goals of competition, localism and diversity.

PARTICIPANTS

Welcome Remarks
Mark Lloyd
Director, Media Policy Institute, New America Foundation

Introduction
Wade Henderson
President, Leadership Conference

Speakers
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) (invited)
Member, U.S. Senate

Senator Bobby Rush (D-IL) (invited)
Member, U.S. Senate

Panel
Craig Aaron
President, Free Press

Bernie Lunzer
President, The Newspaper Guild/Communications Workers of America

Jane Mago
Executive Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel, National Association of Broadcasters

Steven Waldman
Visiting Senior Media Policy Scholar
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Moderator
Adam Clayton Powell, III
Senior Fellow, Center on Communication Leadership, University of Southern California
Policy and University Fellow, Center on Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California