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Big Media Gets its Way with FCC, but Senate Fights Back
The U.S. Senate is taking on the Federal Communications Commission over its June decision to further erode decades-old rules protecting media diversity, launching a battle that could overturn the FCC's wildly unpopular ruling.
As the CWA News went to press, the Senate Commerce Committee, led by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), had voted to tighten the FCC's new rules allowing already giant media companies to gobble up even more TV stations and newspapers. Media conglomerates lobbied aggressively for the changes, while the FCC's Republican majority tuned out public opposition from groups as broad as union members, peace activists, educators and the National Rifle Association.
The FCC's two Democratic commissioners, who made efforts to meet with opponents across the country and voted against the new rules, have asked the FCC to stay its decision until the outcome of congressional action.
Linda Foley, president of The Newspaper Guild-CWA, said the bipartisan support to roll back the FCC decision shows that the commission's majority is "out of step with the American people," who are concerned about the growing concentration of media companies and the lack of local ownership of their communities' newspapers and TV and radio stations.
"The message is that the FCC's rulemaking was wrongheaded," Foley said. "That's evident by the opposition in Congress, at least on the Senate side and by the huge amount of public input into the decision itself. The senators heard that loud and clear."
Even some arch conservatives have spoken out against the decision. Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss) said he's "very disturbed" by the rule changes, calling them "a dangerous thing."
"I'm not one that has believed always that big is necessarily always bad," Lott said recently, according to media reports. "But when you allow this type of concentration, where you could have a market where one company could own and dominate the print media, could theoretically own one of the dish networks, could own the local cable, could own the local television station or two stations, where's the limit?"
A handful of media companies - notably Disney/ABC, General Electric/NBC, Viacom/CBS and AOL-Time Warner - now control the majority of the country's newspapers, broadcast and cable TV stations and radio stations, and are eager to own more. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) predicts an "orgy of mergers" if the media giants - which stand to make billions buying and selling companies - get their way.
The big media companies have long tried to influence the FCC. A new Center for Public Integrity investigation shows how media tycoons spent nearly $2.8 million since 1995 wining and dining FCC members at all-expense-paid conferences around the world.
"The citizen groups - the unions, churches, educators, artists and other activists - didn't have the deep pockets to get the FCC's attention," CWA President Morton Bahr said. "It is disgraceful that the Republican majority on the FCC bowed to corporate interests so completely that they held only one public hearing - and that under pressure - for an issue that will so drastically alter the media landscape in our country."
One of the decision's biggest threats to media diversity is to lift the ban on cross-ownership of TV stations and newspapers in a single community. In 1978, the Supreme Court upheld the FCC rule that then banned such deals, saying, "It is unrealistic to expect true diversity from a commonly owned station-newspaper combination."
"That is as true today as it was then, and media consumers will suffer because of it," Bahr said. "With a single owner controlling the top news outlets in one community, there is no financial incentive to compete."
The proponents' argument that the Internet and cable channels have made the ownership rules obsolete is without merit, Bahr said. "The very same companies that own broadcast channels, radio stations and newspapers, own the top Internet news and cable channels. That's not diversity, it's a monopoly," he said. "And they're certainly not interested in local news. When was the last time you found stories on the Internet or cable about last night's school board meeting or your city's sewer project?"
Foley said the battle is far from over, and urged union members and their families to take part in e-activist campaigns and other efforts to push Congress to overrule the decision.
"Because of the outreach done by commissioners Copps and Adelstein, there now is a whole bipartisan community of interest that has been awakened," she said. "Congress is looking at these issues, and certainly every merger that arises in local and national markets will be scrutinized, by Congress, by the public and by state and local governments."
For e-activist campaigns and FCC updates, go to www.saveourmedia.org. Read more about the Center for Public Integrity investigation of the FCC at www.publicintegrity.org.
As the CWA News went to press, the Senate Commerce Committee, led by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), had voted to tighten the FCC's new rules allowing already giant media companies to gobble up even more TV stations and newspapers. Media conglomerates lobbied aggressively for the changes, while the FCC's Republican majority tuned out public opposition from groups as broad as union members, peace activists, educators and the National Rifle Association.
The FCC's two Democratic commissioners, who made efforts to meet with opponents across the country and voted against the new rules, have asked the FCC to stay its decision until the outcome of congressional action.
Linda Foley, president of The Newspaper Guild-CWA, said the bipartisan support to roll back the FCC decision shows that the commission's majority is "out of step with the American people," who are concerned about the growing concentration of media companies and the lack of local ownership of their communities' newspapers and TV and radio stations.
"The message is that the FCC's rulemaking was wrongheaded," Foley said. "That's evident by the opposition in Congress, at least on the Senate side and by the huge amount of public input into the decision itself. The senators heard that loud and clear."
Even some arch conservatives have spoken out against the decision. Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss) said he's "very disturbed" by the rule changes, calling them "a dangerous thing."
"I'm not one that has believed always that big is necessarily always bad," Lott said recently, according to media reports. "But when you allow this type of concentration, where you could have a market where one company could own and dominate the print media, could theoretically own one of the dish networks, could own the local cable, could own the local television station or two stations, where's the limit?"
A handful of media companies - notably Disney/ABC, General Electric/NBC, Viacom/CBS and AOL-Time Warner - now control the majority of the country's newspapers, broadcast and cable TV stations and radio stations, and are eager to own more. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) predicts an "orgy of mergers" if the media giants - which stand to make billions buying and selling companies - get their way.
The big media companies have long tried to influence the FCC. A new Center for Public Integrity investigation shows how media tycoons spent nearly $2.8 million since 1995 wining and dining FCC members at all-expense-paid conferences around the world.
"The citizen groups - the unions, churches, educators, artists and other activists - didn't have the deep pockets to get the FCC's attention," CWA President Morton Bahr said. "It is disgraceful that the Republican majority on the FCC bowed to corporate interests so completely that they held only one public hearing - and that under pressure - for an issue that will so drastically alter the media landscape in our country."
One of the decision's biggest threats to media diversity is to lift the ban on cross-ownership of TV stations and newspapers in a single community. In 1978, the Supreme Court upheld the FCC rule that then banned such deals, saying, "It is unrealistic to expect true diversity from a commonly owned station-newspaper combination."
"That is as true today as it was then, and media consumers will suffer because of it," Bahr said. "With a single owner controlling the top news outlets in one community, there is no financial incentive to compete."
The proponents' argument that the Internet and cable channels have made the ownership rules obsolete is without merit, Bahr said. "The very same companies that own broadcast channels, radio stations and newspapers, own the top Internet news and cable channels. That's not diversity, it's a monopoly," he said. "And they're certainly not interested in local news. When was the last time you found stories on the Internet or cable about last night's school board meeting or your city's sewer project?"
Foley said the battle is far from over, and urged union members and their families to take part in e-activist campaigns and other efforts to push Congress to overrule the decision.
"Because of the outreach done by commissioners Copps and Adelstein, there now is a whole bipartisan community of interest that has been awakened," she said. "Congress is looking at these issues, and certainly every merger that arises in local and national markets will be scrutinized, by Congress, by the public and by state and local governments."
For e-activist campaigns and FCC updates, go to www.saveourmedia.org. Read more about the Center for Public Integrity investigation of the FCC at www.publicintegrity.org.