The Senate stops the FCC
The Senate, in a bipartisan move, passed a resolution to overturn the FCC’s December 2007 ruling. That ruling overturned decades of media ownership constraints.
The Senate resolution, sponsored by Sens. Bryan Dorgan (D-North Dakota), Hillary Clinton (D-New York), Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and Olympia Snow (R-Maine), reinstates the decades old rule that prevents one media company from owning both newspapers and broadcast media in a single market. The FCC had voted to allow media companies to monopolize a market by owning both the major newspapers and broadcast stations.
Obviously, single market ownership by any large media corporation, would limit the diversity of perspectives and news that the monopolized market would receive. Already it is hard to remember what radio was like before the onslaught of Clear Channel when music was chosen by local DJs and call in shows were real.
Even in my little town, the “local” broadcast station is owned by a company that has its main offices elsewhere. The opinion piece produced for my local market is actually broadcast from some city, states away, representing the opinions and outlook of a person with no connection to local events or values.
The FCC’s December ruling would only have reduced what local or at least different opinions and “voices” that my area can access. The problem is worse in rural areas like mine, where access to the internet is limited.
The Senate resolution, coupled with the House internet neutrality bill, go a long way towards ensuring that the public’s access to information is not limited.
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