The Times reports:
WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 — The head of the Federal Communications Commission has circulated an ambitious plan to relax the decades-old media ownership rules, including repealing a rule that forbids a company to own both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city.You can read all about it by following the link to the Times' website (it will be up for several days before it goes into the archive and you have to pay to see it). Here's the nut graf (actually two or three grafs), tho':
A proposal from Kevin J. Martin could change media ownership rules in two months.
Kevin J. Martin, chairman of the commission, wants to repeal the rule in the next two months — a plan that, if successful, would be a big victory for some executives of media conglomerates.
Officials said the commission would consider loosening the restrictions on the number of radio and television stations a company could own in the same city.This story relates directly to what we've been talking about in class. Let's follow it.
Currently, a company can own two television stations in the larger markets only if at least one is not among the four largest stations and if there are at least eight local stations. The rules also limit the number of radio stations that a company can own to no more than eight in each of the largest markets.
The deregulatory proposal is likely to put the agency once again at the center of a debate between the media companies, which view the restrictions as anachronistic, and civil rights, labor, religious and other groups that maintain the government has let media conglomerates grow too large.
3 comments:
Have you ever noticed how issues arise around each other and seem to have a direct influence on your life? Well it happened again. It's funny how this article releases and is put up on here a day after I have a thorough conversation with my mother about gas prices and whether or not they should be regulated by the government and on the same day that I hear a discussion on a talk radio show about government increasing regulations in airport security. Maybe I'm just not noticing how often these subjects are discussed, but I just find it weird.
Well just to say something about the topic, I feel that the government should not have anymore power in controlling the media, but I do feel that there needs to be some help with the management of gas and in airport security.
Oil companies should not be churning record profits when we are at war with our major foreign supplier of oil. It just doesn't make sense.
The debate I heard this morning was based around test bombs that were sent through airport secuirty in three major airports in the US, LAX, Chicago O'Hare, and San Francisco International. I believe the percentages of the bomb parts that were let through were 75%, 20%, and 60% respectively. Something needs to be done to decrese these numbers immediately and the government is almost the only group with the power to do so. It needs to happen now. The government needs to do something about this.
I have mixed feelings regaurding this isssue. On one hand I feel that Mass Media is already controlled too much which is why we never really know whats going on in the world. It is why we are blind sided by stories that cover Brittany and celebs instead of real world issues.
On the other hand I feel that maybe it is a good idea to pass this rule and to enforce it. If only a few big-names ownwd the majority of T.V. Stations, Radio Stations, and newspapers, then we will always have a one sided few of the news filled with bias.
There really is no clear cut right or wrong. Should thay pass the rule? Should thay not? I dont know. But I am sure glad I dont have to make the decision
I don't think the goverment should be able to limit the media anymore than it has. I think thats why society as a whole is limited to the information we deserve.
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