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News :: Miscellaneous |
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FCC approves merger waiver for News Corp: 7/30/01 UCIMC Newshour headline |
Current rating: 0 |
by posted by Sascha Meinrath
Email: meinrath (nospam) urbana.indymedia.org (unverified!) |
30 Jul 2001
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Last Wednesday, July 25, the Federal Communications Commission approved the
sale of Chris-Craft Communications to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The sale
adds many more TV stations to Murdoch's stable. Most notably, News Corp
gains another TV station in the New York City market, where it already owns
one. The FCC duopoly rule restricts the co-ownership of two major news
media in a single market -- however, FCC waivers allow corporations to circumvent this rule. |
Last Wednesday, July 25, the Federal Communications Commission approved the
sale of Chris-Craft Communications to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The sale
adds many more TV stations to Murdoch's stable. Most notably, News Corp
gains another TV station in the New York City market, where it already owns
one. The FCC duopoly rule restricts the co-ownership of two major news
media in a single market, such as a newspaper and a TV station, or two TV
stations. But News Corp. was given a waiver on this rule in the 1980s,
when it gained FCC permission to own both the NY Post and WNYW-TV. Now News
Corp. has been given another waiver allowing it to also own WWOR-TV, with
the caveat that the company must comply with existing ownership rules
within 2 years, by divesting itself of one of its New York City TV stations.
However, FCC Chairman Michael Powell has made it abundantly clear that he
intends to see the duopoly rule done away with this year, as the FCC
conducts a review of ownership limits. Therefore it is possible that News
Corp. may never be forced to comply with current ownership limits. This
most recent waiver from the FCC is thus widely seen as a first step in more
broadcast industry deregulation, rather than a temporary waiver.
In a Congressional hearing held two weeks ago, members of the House
Commerce Committee expressed concern over the FCC's proposed review of
ownership limits. Lawmakers fear that the FCC will do away with the
duopoly rule altogether, triggering additional industry consolidation and
the further erosion of diversity in the broadcast media.
The FCC's decision to allow News Corp's purchase of Chris Craft fell along
party lines, with all of the Democratic Commissioner's voting against
it. Democratic Commissioner Gloria Tristiani said that the decision,
"shows the lengths the commission will go to avoid standing in the way of
media mergers."
Doing away with the duopoly rule has been a top agenda item for the
nation's largest newspaper and media owners, with Chicago's Tribune Company
leading the fight. Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns local station WICD-TV
channel 15, has filed suit against the FCC over this rule because it wants
to retain a duopoly it has in Las Vegas. A repeal of the duopoly rule by
the FCC would allow Sinclair to keep its duopoly in Las Vegas and pursue
owning multiple stations in other markets like Champaign-Urbana. |
