Published on Thursday, June 19, 2003 by Agence France Presse
A Senate panel voted to overturn a decision by the Federal Communications Commission that would loosen restrictions on US media ownership.
The Senate Commerce Committee decision now goes before the full Senate, but it is not clear if there are enough votes to pass the bill in either the Senate or the House of Representatives.
However, several Republicans have joined with Democrats in opposing the new FCC rules, which do not need congressional approval but can be effectively vetoed by Congress.
The FCC this month decided to loosen ownership restrictions that some called outdated in an era of fast-changing technology, despite complaints that it will concentrate media power in a few hands.
The changes would lift the national broadcast "cap" -- or reach of any single company -- to 45 percent of the national market from 35 percent and let TV, radio and newspaper companies buy each other more freely.
The Senate bill would reinstitute the 35 percent cap and limit cross-ownership deals in all but the smallest markets.
Under the new regime, critics say barons like News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch could tighten their grip on US media.
Backers of the FCC change said the old rules were antiquated and unenforceable in a fast-changing media industry subject to shifts in technology such as the rise of satellite and the Internet.
Additionally, the FCC had been compelled to review its rules after a series of defeats in the US courts, which said the regulations appeared to be infringing on the free-speech rights of media companies.
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, one of the dissenters in the June 2 vote, said the decision by lawmakers should give regulators pause.
"In light of the very real possibility that Congress will reverse the Commission's vote to loosen its media ownership limits, I believe the FCC should defer to today's congressional action and stay its decision until the people's elected representatives complete their deliberations on media concentration," Copps said in a statement.
"This strong and bipartisan committee action should flash the orange light of 'slow down and prepare to stop' for those media companies rushing to buy, sell or swap stations all across America."
A coalition of consumer, civil rights and low-income groups sent a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee this week asking them to rollback the recent FCC order deregulating media ownership.
The FCC decision "is a clear ends-oriented decision directed at helping the largest media companies at the expense of the public and democracy," the letter stated.
"This decision will diminish the diversity of voices heard over the public airwaves and the coverage of local voices and local issues as media giants buy up local outlets and nationalize the stories they broadcast."
