Feingold Calls on FCC to Delay Vote on Media Ownership Rules Senator Raises Concerns About the Negative Effects of Further Consolidation in the Media Industry May 19, 2003 Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold called on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell to postpone an upcoming vote on changes to media ownership rules until the public has had the opportunity to comment. Feingold has raised concerns over the last few years about consolidation in the media industry since the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. Feingold has introduced legislation specifically targeting consolidation in the radio industry and is a co-sponsor of legislation to prevent further consolidation in the television industry. Feingold outlined his concerns in a letter sent to Chairman Powell today. "The lesson of radio over the last seven years is a critical one for this debate, and we ignore it at great risk to the country," the letter read. "In the current environment, it is very easy to move forward and to change the media ownership rules without a full appreciation of the consequences and without full disclosure and debate. It will be a much harder task to turn back the clock if these new rules do to newspapers and television what the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has done to radio." The rules proposed by the FCC would lift the ban against newspaper and broadcast cross-ownership that has been in place for over 25 years. In addition, the current proposal would dramatically change the rules regarding local TV ownership. The new rules would allow a single company to own two TV stations in a single market, or even three stations in the largest markets. It would permit a single company to own stations reaching 45 percent of the country, which actually means up to 90 percent if the company owns only UHF stations. While the current limits on local radio ownership would be retained, the proposal would allow for significantly increased radio and TV cross-ownership. "These changes would move this country closer to a time when the media is dominated by a small number of national companies that are completely out of the reach of local ownership and control," the letter read. "This would be a significant and I believe largely negative development, given our nation's history of local access and local control of the media that has served us so well until now." A copy of the letter is available upon request. (Click here to read Senator Feingold's letter to the FCC)

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