FCC Makes Monopolies Easier

Because the crushing pseudo-monopoly of media conglomeration has gone so well and had absolutely no effect on the objectivity of news reporting at all, the FCC has decided to further relax ownership restrictions on media companies. I'm sure this will work out great.

The Federal Communications Commission, overturning a 32-year-old ban, voted Tuesday to allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was joined by his two Republican colleagues in favor of the proposal, while the commission's two Democrats voted against it.

Basically, this means that companies that have already been gobbling up smaller media firms can operate with less restriction and purchase more outlets for whatever sort of functionality they are interested in. Chairman Martin implies that this will help newspapers to stay afloat in times of shrinking profits, but all it really does is open them up for takeover where they might otherwise have been able to maintain independence.

The Democrats on the panel had plenty to say about the ownership provision and the allegedly shady way it came about:

The two men blasted Martin for making changes to his proposal "in the dead of night" and just prior to the meeting that they said created new loopholes in the rule instead of closing them, as Martin pledged during a recent hearing on Capitol Hill.

"Anybody who thinks our processes are open, thoughtful or deliberative should think twice in light of these nocturnal escapades," said Adelstein.

I'm not surprised that hijinx and tomfoolery were involved, with Republicans in charge. This may not survive the kind of judicial scrutiny that has brought down past attempts to favor business over the press, but you never know. The steady encroachment of corporate interests into arenas within which our democracy is defined, like the press, is disturbing. This process will be one to keep an eye on.