Media Ownership NPRM Draws Split Votes

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said he could not approve all aspects of the FCC’s proposed changes to media ownership rules, in commenting on what could be his final vote cast in office. “While I find a better level of analysis here than in previous Quadrennial Reviews, the item nevertheless provokes my dissent because it heads down a similar road that the two previous commissions travelled regarding newspaper-broadcast cross ownership,” he said in a statement Thursday (http://xrl.us/bmmosj). “Our media, and our public policy, need to head in a different direction.” He said the FCC should be further along in correcting the inequities of minority and women broadcast ownership. “While I am pleased to see the proposal for an incubator program teed up for comment in the NRPM before us, I would have preferred us to have already taken action on such proposals as ‘Overcoming Disadvantages’ and any number of other proposals submitted over the past several years to the Commission by our Diversity Advisory Committee.”

Commissioner Robert McDowell said the proposed changes don’t go far enough to relax ownership restrictions. “I am disappointed that we tentatively conclude to retain most of the existing ownership rules, including the dual network, local television and local radio ownership rules,” he said in a statement (http://xrl.us/bmmos2) after voting to approve in part and concur in part with the NPRM. And he said some of the rules proposed would be even more burdensome to companies than existing regulations. “For instance, the proposal to apply ownership combination restrictions to daily newspapers and television stations within the same Nielsen Designated Market Area may prohibit combinations that are currently permitted,” he said. McDowell said he’s troubled by a further round of inquiries into TV shared services agreements included in the NPRM. “These arrangements are used to reduce the costs of news production and any action taken to hinder such relationships may have unintended consequences.

Commissioner Mignon Clyburn voted to approve the notice. “Among other things, this NPRM acknowledges that the Commission needs more data,” she said (http://xrl.us/bmmotk). “It admits that the factual information the Commission currently has is incomplete if developing policies to promote greater female and minority ownership is still a priority,” she said. “I commend the Chairman for insisting that ours is a data driven agency and am encouraged by the commitment to support the research necessary to achieve ... a comprehensive picture of the current state of female and minority ownership.”

Meanwhile, the NAB praised parts of order (http://xrl.us/bmmosj) while Free Press criticized it for proposing relaxing certain media ownership limits (CD Dec 22 p6). “NAB supports elimination of the broadcast/newspaper cross-ownership ban,” CEO Gordon Smith said. “We also support relief from TV duopoly rules to help sustain news and public affairs programming at struggling TV stations.” Free Press said the rulemaking notice “flies in the face of promises made by the president on the campaign trail,” and will make it harder for local owners to operate broadcast stations. “If the FCC is serious about addressing the diversity problem, it needs to tighten its rules, not relax them,” said Free Press President Craig Aaron. Aaron did praise the steps the notice takes toward looking at shared services agreements.