Civil Rights Groups: FCC Shouldn't Give Large Station Groups More Leverage
The FCC should avoid policies that “would grant already-dominant affiliate station groups additional leverage,” said a joint filing from several civil rights groups Monday in the agency’s proceeding on broadcaster network/affiliate relationships. The groups include the Multicultural Media Telecom and Internet Council, the National Urban League, LGBT Tech and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
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“We are concerned that the premise underlying this inquiry -- that ‘local broadcasters’ are small, independent entities that the Commission must affirmatively ‘empower’ through more preferential regulatory policies -- does not accurately reflect today’s marketplace,” the groups said. The public interest “is best served by fostering genuine localism, promoting a competitive marketplace” and ensuring that all communities have access to diverse and independent sources of information, they argued. “Strengthening the negotiating power of already-dominant affiliate station groups would work against these objectives.”