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2002 Media Ownership Proceeding

2002 Media Ownership Proceeding

Media Ownership Limits Facing Repeal at the FCC


Comprehensive 2002 Media Ownership Proceeding in the FCC

On September 12, 2002, the FCC started a proceeding to review all the media ownership rules currently in law. The FCC completed this proceeding in a vote that took place on June 2, 2003.

Read background on June 2nd decision. Read MAP’s press release on the June 2nd decision.

The FCC released the full text of the FCC’s decision on July 2nd. This proposal was a tremendous blow to democracy and civic discourse. For an explanation of the importantace of these rules, see Cheryl Leanza and Harold Feld’s article “More than a Toaster with Pictures: Defending Media Ownership Limits,“ in Fall 2003 issue of Communications Lawyer.

The wave of public protest that was engendered around the country against the FCC’s rules continued after the decision was issued. Congress is considering overturning all or part of the decision. For legislative updates, see Consumers Union, Common Cause, and Free Press.

Table of Contents:


Background

This proceeding combined previous FCC proceedings and directives from several court decisions. This review process is required by law resulting from a provision of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Section 202(h), that requires the FCC to review its media ownership rules every 2 years. This spring in a case called Fox Television v. FCC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that in every review the FCC must re-justify every major ownership rule or strike it from the books.

The FCC proceeding will consider the following existing rules (some of which were already under consideration in other proceedings):


FCC Order and Commissioner Statements:
FCC Releases Text of Report and Order Setting Limits on Media Concentration

FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Commissioner Statements:

After the FCC released its studies (see below), it asked for comment on the studies and the NPRM by December 2, 2002 and reply comments by January 2,2003. After repeated requests for additional time, this deadline was extended by 30 days but no more. The new deadlines were: comments due January 2; reply comments due February 3.


FCC Media Ownership Working Group Studies and Access to Data

On October 1, 2002, the FCC released a series of studies and analyses that would provide a basis for its media ownership proceeding.

Getting Public Access to the Data

The FCC did not grant access to the underlying data in the studies. MAP asked the FCC to grant the public access to the data. On November 5, 2002, the FCC granted a 30 day extension and granted the public access to all the underlying data, with significant limits, in the 2002 Biennial Review proceeding.

Terms of Public Access to Data

FCC Material on Granting Access to Data


Public Interest Responses to FCC Proceeding

Here are MAP’s materials and other selected materials.

Hearings and Fora Around the Country on Media Ownership

Commissioner Michael Copps asked Chairman Powell to discuss the media ownership issue in fora or hearings around the country. The Chairman initially refused, and eventually relented and held one official hearing. Public interest groups around the country held their own hearings and invited FCC Commissioners.


The “Newspaper-Broadcast Ownership” Rule

The newspaper broadcast cross ownership rule prohibits a newspaper from owning a broadcast station in the same local area and vice versa. The FCC adopted this rule in 1975. The Supreme Court upheld the rule against constitutional attack in a case called NCCB v. FCC.. At the time the FCC adopted the rule, it allowed many existing newspaper-broadcast combinations to keep their combinations. Many of these “grandfathered” combinations continue to exist today.

In September 2001, the FCC initiated a proceeding to relax or eliminate the rule. (See FCC’s Press Release describing the proceeding and the text of FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking).

Media Access Project and other public interest organizations filed at the FCC in favor of preserving the rule:

Other Comments in support of rule:

Other resources on the Newspaper Broadcast rule:

In 1997 the FCC considered relaxing or repealing the rule, but it determined the rule should remain in place.

1997 FCC Filings in Support of the Newspaper Broadcast Rule:


Local Radio Ownership

The local radio ownership rule allows ownership of up to 8 radio stations (on a sliding scale) in a local market, depending on total number of stations in market. Congress repealed the national radio ownership cap in 1996, thus, this is the last significant rule promoting diverse national radio ownership, with the exception of the new low power radio service.

In November 2001, the FCC initiated a proceeding to reconsider its local radio ownership limits. (See FCC Local Radio Ownership Press Release and Full text of FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking).

Additional resources on radio consolidation:


Local Television Ownership Rules

This rule limits ownership to two television stations in same market only if that market has 8 independent voices, and, one of the two stations is not among the top four stations in that market. Sometimes this rule is referred to as the “duopoly” rule.

In August 1999 the FCC adopted the present rule. In the past, no owner was allowed to possess more than one local television station. (See August 1999 FCC Order .) The 1999 decision took an important step with respect to “LMAs” or local marketing agreements. LMAs, prior to 1999, were a method used by television station owners to control a station but avoid the FCC’s ownership limits. After 1999, LMAs will be considered attributable (see above for more information about attribution rules). At the same time the FCC closed this loophole in the local TV rules, it also adopted the present rule, which increases the number of television stations a single owner can control in a local market.

This rule was challenged in court. See MAP’s court proceedings page.

Filings on local television ownership rule and similar rules:


Dual Networks Rule

Since the earliest days of broadcasting, FCC rules in effect prohibited a single entity from operating two broadcast networks. In the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Congress relaxed this rule to allow major networks (such as ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) to create new networks. In 2001, the FCC further relaxed the rule by allowing a major network to purchase or merge with an emerging network (such as WB or UPN). The major networks are still prohibited from merging with one another.