Senators threaten to block media ownership plan
By Peter Kaplan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators on Wednesday threatened to introduce bipartisan legislation that would block the U.S. Federal Communication Commission from acting quickly to ease rules governing media ownership.
Sens. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, and Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, said they were studying possible legislation that would nullify an FCC decision expected on December 18.
"I would expect those of us who feel strongly that this is the wrong approach will attempt to find a way to block an action that we think is inappropriate," Dorgan told reporters at a press conference.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin recently said he wants the agency to wrap up its examination of media ownership and reach a decision by December 18 on whether to ease limits on how many media outlets a company may own in a single market.
Martin has not proposed exactly what to do about the ownership limits. But Dorgan said on Wednesday that it was "certain" that Martin would propose to lift restrictions on cross-ownership between newspapers and radio and television stations. He said the proposal would probably also include a more general easing of other ownership rules.
A spokeswoman for the FCC declined comment on the senators' comments.
Consumer groups and Democrats on the FCC have expressed reservations about easing ownership rules, fearing that more consolidation in the industry would eliminate independent voices and degrade local news coverage.
Long-standing FCC rules restrict media cross-ownership and ban ownership of a newspaper and a TV or radio station in the same market, unless the FCC grants a waiver.
Martin has said previously he expected the cross-ownership ban to be lifted, but has declined to predict where limits would be drawn.
On Wednesday, the two senators said they were studying several ideas for derailing the FCC's expected decision in December, including a rarely used mechanism called a "resolution of disapproval," which would require passage in both the Senate and the House.
"I think (relaxing media ownership rules) is not a good policy," Lott said. "I just don't think this is in the people's best interest."
Dorgan said there was "massive support" for such a move among Democratic senators, who control the chamber. Lott was less sure about Republicans backing such an effort.
If cross-ownership limits were eased or lifted, it could help some investors, such as real estate tycoon Sam Zell, who is leading a proposed leveraged buy-out of media group Tribune Co. Zell wants the FCC to reaffirm waivers that allow Tribune to cross-own daily newspapers and broadcast outlets in some markets.
A federal appeals court halted a 2003 FCC plan to relax media ownership rules when it ruled that the agency failed to adequately justify the new rules. Since then, the FCC has held public meetings in a half-dozen cities to gather feedback about media ownership.
Later on Wednesday, Martin scheduled an October 31 hearing on broadcasters' role in local communities, one of the final hearings the agency needs to hold before it can move forward with any media ownership rule changes.
But the move provoked criticism from the two Democrats on the FCC, who said the hearing should not be held on such short notice.
"Is the Commission serious about allowing the public to participate in the agency's decision-making? Or is the goal to be able to claim that hearings have been held, even if the public has not had a chance to fully participate?" the two commissioners, Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, said in their statement.
