The media ownership study that prompted a pause...

The media ownership study that prompted a pause in approving FCC rules may be done soon, said the head of the group paying for the research on cross-ownership’s impact on minority ownership. The research has been completed and is being peer-reviewed, Minority Media and Telecommunications Council Executive Director David Honig told us Tuesday. “We're hoping to get it finished and published before the end of this week, but you never know,” he said. “It’s that close to done.” Then-FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in February paused a vote on ownership rules to give time for MMTC to do the study, and Friday the agency released a study design on barriers to entry, research that a public notice said relates to ownership rules (CD May 29 p2). MMTC had expected the research to be given to the agency Wednesday, said a May 2 filing in docket 09-182 (http://bit.ly/12iVzVE). It said the reviewers are professors Philip Napoli of Fordham University, Allen Hammond of the Santa Clara School of Law and Jannette Dates, ex-dean of Howard University’s School of Communications. NAB continues to think “modest reform of media ownership rules -- many of which stem from the 1970s -- are warranted,” an association spokesman told us. “As the events of Superstorm Sandy, the Boston Marathon bombing and the Oklahoma tornadoes have proven, local broadcasting still matters, and it’s time to adopt ownership rules that allow radio and TV stations to remain competitive with national pay media providers.”