UPDATE 1-US Senate votes to override media ownership rule
(Updates with Senate approval)
By Peter Kaplan
WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to overturn new, looser media ownership restrictions in the 20 biggest U.S. cities, defying a White House threat to veto the measure.
Senators, on a voice vote, approved a resolution nullifying the new, relaxed ownership rules adopted in December by the Federal Communications Commission.
The vote moved lawmakers a step closer toward overturning the new FCC rule.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, a co-sponsor of the resolution, said he was deeply troubled by the FCC's rule relaxing media cross-ownership.
"As corporate ownership over our media grows more concentrated, we see less and less of the diversity of our nation. When programming is the same from coast to coast, our airwaves will no longer reflect the rich mosaic of our country and our citizens," said Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat.
The vote came hours after the White House Office of Management and Budget issued a statement saying the new FCC rule "furthers the public interest by providing greater financial flexibility to newspaper and broadcast outlets struggling to survive in today's intensely competitive media environment.
"The Administration supported this FCC action and strongly opposes any attempt to overturn this rule by legislative means," the statement says.
The new FCC rules eased a 1975 ban on ownership of a newspaper and broadcast outlet in a single market. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House but has not come up for a vote yet.
The FCC's Republican chairman, Kevin Martin, has said the rule was a minimal loosening of the ban aimed at helping struggling newspapers in big cities by spreading local news-gathering costs across multiple media platforms.
However, the rule has been sharply criticized by consumer groups and some lawmakers, as well as by the FCC's two Democratic commissioners.
Critics say further consolidation of the media industry would eliminate independent voices and degrade local news coverage.
They also contend that the FCC rule contains loopholes that would let media owners combine newspapers and broadcast outlets in many smaller markets around the United States, not just the top 20 cities.
The FCC ownership rules were highlighted by News Corp's NWSa.N unsuccessful bid to buy the newspaper Newsday from Tribune Co, and they could be a stumbling block for future acquisitions in the struggling industry.
Major media figures such as AH Belo Chief Executive Robert Decherd have argued that media ownership restrictions should be relaxed. Some of the largest U.S. newspaper publishers such as Gannett Co Inc (GCI.N) and Media General Inc (MEG.N) also own television stations.
The resolution must be passed by both chambers to overturn the FCC rule. (Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Gary Hill, Richard Chang)
