Media Consolidation
Despite overwhelming public opposition, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted time after time in favor of relaxing media ownership limits.
Thousands of Americans have spoken out at public hearings and written to te FCC in opposition to media consolidation. In 2003, when Michael Powell's FCC voted --without any public input-- to allow one company to own up to three television stations, the local newspaper, the cable system and up to eight radio stations in one media market, more than 3 million Americans spoke out and the courts eventually overturned the rules. In December 2007, the Commission overturned a 30-year-old ban prohibiting a single company from owning both the local newspaper and a television station in the same community. The Senate subsequently passed a "Resolution of Disapproval," but further action stalled in the House.
Learn more about the issue of media consolidation and what can be done by reading our report, "Media and Democracy in America Today: A Reform Plan for a New Administration".
More Resources:
• Facts On Media In America: Did You Know?
• Who Owns What? (from the Columbia Journalism Review)
• Notable Quotes Against Media Consolidation
• Communities of Color & Media Reform
• Timeline of Media Mega Mergers
Common Cause has filed comments with the FCC opposing any rules change that allows for more media consolidation. Two of our reports were entered into the official record:
• A Tale of Five Cities: Why the Newspaper-Broadcast Cross-Ownership Ban Should be Preserved
• Citizens Speak: The Real World Impacts of Media Consolidation
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