FCC Begins New Media Ownership Proceeding
Posted November 6th, 2009 by Megan Tady
Media ownership rules were in the spotlight this week at three consecutive workshops held by the Federal Communications Commission.
The commission is required to review its media ownership rules every four years. This time around, the rules are being given particularly close attention because of court appeals of FCC findings and challenges to the agency’s decision to loosen newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership restrictions.
Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner was on hand Tuesday to offer testimony, and praised the commission for conducting the workshops – a radical departure from past proceedings.
“Let me start by saying that this workshop itself, and the public notice requesting comment on the analytical framework for the 2010 quadrennial review comes as somewhat of a stunning surprise to those of us who have become quite cynical about the commission’s concern for quality public interest focused analysis,” Turner said.
Turner gave the FCC several recommendations for how to conduct its analysis of the media ownership rules with accuracy and transparency.
To hear more, listen to this week’s Media Minutes podcast.
