FCC Vote

As expected: F.C.C. Votes to Relax Rules Limiting Media Ownership

Federal regulators relaxed decades-old rules restricting media ownership Monday, permitting companies to buy more television stations and own a newspaper and a broadcast outlet in the same city.

And this sort of thing annoys me, not because it isn't factual, but because the way the fact in question is tacked on to the story is meant to lend a certain sinister edge to the story:

The Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 -- along party lines -- to adopt a series of changes favored by media companies.

Because we all know that big companies are evil, and if they favor something it is because they want to maniacally squeeze a few more dollars out of the public before finally, and utterly, takin us all to Hades in a handbasket.

And I just don't buy this:

The critics of eased rules include consumer advocates, civil rights and religious groups, small broadcasters, writers, musicians, academicians and the National Rifle Association. They say most people still get news mainly from television and newspapers, and combining the two is dangerous because those entities will not monitor each other and provide differing opinions.

In large markets there will be plenty of competition, and in smaller markets the news coverage is already mediocre at best, and likely pretty lousy overall.

And I still maintain that information sources are far more plentiful now than when those rules were written, and the idea that there will be these vast cabals who will control our access to information is a bit hysterical. Especially since there is this prevailing myth that we came from an era of vast choices that have been squelched by conglomerates, when in fact it wasn't that long ago we had far, far fewer choices for news and information--especially in medium to small markets.

Mostly the panic seems to be over the access of conservative-linked companies or personalities. The main arguments I hear are that 1) Rupert Murdoch is going to be too powerful, to wit:

Some ads took on Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns Fox News Channel, 20th Century Fox TV and film studios, the New York Post and other media properties. Murdoch told a Senate committee last month he has no plan for a media buying spree after the changes, other than his proposed acquisition of DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite television provider.

And, 2) Rush Limbaugh dominates the radiowaves, and this is blamed on that great bugaboo, Clear Channel--despite the fact that Limbaugh rose to prominence before CC grew to the size it currently has obtained. Plus, no one was freaking out when the only thing on AM radio at night was Larry King.

Posted by Steven Taylor at June 2, 2024 10:55 AM | TrackBack