Upton Seeks FCC Rule Increasing Radio Ownership Cap
The FCC should ease radio ownership caps and eliminate the newspaper/broadcast cross ownership rule, Senate Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.) urged Thurs. Speaking at a Media Institute lunch, Upton said he made his requests in letters sent last week to the FCC asking for a rulemaking on radio ownership. He'd prefer no ownership caps, except in small markets, but compromised in his overture to the FCC because he’s a “pragmatist,” Upton said.
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“Our role in Congress should be as partners, encouraging growth for the ‘old media’ -- newspapers, radio and TV, rather than the executioner, carrying out a death sentence,” Upton said: “We can’t have an industry guided by a 1920’s playbook.” Upton called his proposal “almost embarrassingly modest” but “achievable.” The letter on the radio ownership rulemaking said consumers would get better free terrestrial radio service and more foreign language programming.
“The Media Institute is the only forum this side of the NAB where such a proposal is likely to be presented where the audience isn’t going to respond with skepticism,” said Andrew Schwartzman, exec. dir.-Media Access Project. “The model of increasing local ownership groups has not been financially successful. It’s bad for the public, bad for the industry and I'm sure there’s very little Congressional support.” Congress was ready to overrule the FCC on media ownership rules in 2004 and there’s no reason to think that sentiment has changed.
Others think Upton’s proposals might be an opening salvo in a new effort to pressure the FCC on media ownership. “It’s a shot across the FCC bow on the media ownership issue,” said Jeff Chester, exec. dir.-Center for Digital Democracy. “I think the FCC will radically restructure [the rules], but that’s not to say there’s not going to be huge opposition,” Chester said. He criticized Upton’s radio ownership proposal as “out of touch” with industry.
NAB endorsed Upton’s call to kill the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule, but its board hasn’t had time to weigh the radio station ownership proposal, a spokesman said. An FCC spokesman said the agency had no comment on Upton’s letters.
In other remarks, Upton said he met Thurs. with House Commerce Committee principals on telecom bill details. “We're going to get a telecom bill,” Upton said emphatically, adding staff are working “almost around the clock” on bipartisan consensus. In response to a question about whether the bill would address video franchising, he said: “Video will be part of the mix.”