FCC Flooded with Comments on Media Ownership

FCC FLOODED WITH COMMENTS ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP
[SOURCE: Broadcast Engineering]
Before last week’s deadline, the FCC had received more than 122,000 comments on media ownership with the expectation of more to come. Consumer advocates and public interest organizations have united to pressure Republican commissioners, who hold a 3-2 majority, to retain current limits on broadcast ownership. The vast majority of Americans still rely on locally owned TV stations and newspapers as their most important sources for local news and information, according to Gene Kimmelman, vice president of the Consumers Union. “Cable and Internet are no substitutes,” he said. The groups argued that in markets with fewer dominant media companies, independent and local media competing against each other are more likely to air diverse opinions and provide more ownership opportunities for minorities. More consolidation and media concentration will likely result in fewer minority-owned stations and fewer stations airing local news content, said Ben Scott, policy director of the Free Press.
http://broadcastengineering.com/news/fcc-comments-media-ownership/index....