Rep Walden: Old Regs Could Be Death Sentence For Local Outlets

Communications Subcommittee chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) made it clear what he thought of the Federal Communications Commission's recent activity, and inactivity, on media ownership rules.

"Pretending laws designed for an era before smartphones and the Internet will get the job done is an effective death sentence for many local media outlets," he said. That came in opening statements at a hearing on media ownership rules, part of the parent House Commerce Committee's ongoing review of communications regulations, as well as a response to some current events like the joint sales agreement (JSA) ruling and the decision to role the 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews into one targeted for mid-year 2016.

Rep Walden said everyone was committed to the core values promoting localism, diversity and competition, but his view was that was best served by not hampering broadcasters ability to compete.