By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – Sometimes I just wish I were back in college so I could expend my energy on the relevant issues of the day, because what the FCC is about to do on June 2nd should not be ignored or looked at lightly. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
The Federal Communications Commission is made up of three Republicans and two Democrats. This small but oh-so-powerful group could dramatically change the complexion of our media and entertainment outlets if Chairman Michael Powell gets his way - for the worse. Last September, the FCC began reviewing some long-standing regulations. They're required to do that by law every two years. And although the actual regulatory changes won't be known to the public until the vote on June 2nd, Powell has made it very clear whose interest he's serving. We call them media giants - the handful of broadcasting and newspaper conglomerates that basically have a monopoly on what we read, see and hear.
See, Powell has already said the commission will most likely end a 28 year-old ban prohibiting a single company from controlling both a newspaper and television station in the same market. Word is they're also thinking about easing another rule that prevents a single network from owning TV stations that cumulatively reach more than 35% of the national audience. So the little independent cable guy who's been fighting a good and noble battle for viewership just got his arm chopped off. Why, even National Rifle Association is against lifting this ban. It might mean restrictions on access to the airwaves.
So since the 1996 deregulation, when Congress removed restrictions on the number of stations one parent company could own, Rocky Mountain News points out that three corporations have come to control 60% of the stations in the 10 top U.S. markets. The number of radio station owners has declined by more than a third. Thank San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications. They went from 40 stations in 1996 to over 1,200 stations today. And advertising rates skyrocket, passing those costs onto to the consumer.
Unfortunately, not much else has leaked. If these do changes take place, we'll be hard pressed to ever turn them back. For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.
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