A lot of old media writers and politicians from another era are making a big deal about the FCC approval of cross-ownership rules. In reality, it's not much to even be bothered with.
The basic changes will allow a business or institution to own one broadcast station and newspaper in the same market.
That's not even a big deal in today's digital age. But the ruling only applies to the 20 largest media markets in the United States, so it won't even relate to the vast majority of the country.
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New Media Makes Cross-Ownership Irrelevant
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Another part of the ruling is the television station can't be one of the top four in the market if they are allowed to own a newspaper, and there must be a minimum of 8 independently owned-and-operated media voices in the market for the rule to kick in.
So what's the big deal? Nothing really. In this case, the Democrats on the FCC board are acting like the existing marketplace is the same as it was 10 years ago. The digital age has already made broadcast news irrelevant for the vast majority of young and middle-aged people in America, so whether a newspaper is owned along with a television station, that won't mean anything at all. And we already know the future of the declining newspaper industry.
The Internet is fast becoming the place where people prefer to consume their news, so this vote is really a non-issue. Anybody wanting to enter media would be ignorant at best to attempt to do it through the old way mainstream media has. The Internet is where the action is, and that will continually be the growth area for media for years to come.
Now to me something much more important happened at this meeting, which was a poor decision. The FCC voted to disallow cable companies from gaining over a 30 percent share of the national pay television market.
What will happen next? Will Google be required to divest itself of the online search lead it holds? That's why decisions like this never work, they inevitably lead to all sorts of unintended consequences.
I'm not sure exactly why this has been revisited. Courts have already struck down a cap like this in the past, and probably will do so again in the future.
With Martin voting for this, it may be that he was throwing the two Democrats on the FCC a bone, to soften the cross-ownership vote.
mullah cimoc say aemriki not having him free press. for save ameriki nation usa people must to make new federal communication law:
1. each tv station and each the radio station must be own 100% by person live within physical area serve by tv station. this call the local ownership.
2. no single person to owning more than 1% of any one tv station stock certificate. this make the diverse ownership.
3. abolish him networks, abccbsnbcfox. then to letting local own station form own networks with power from bottom up (flow from shareholder to board of director to ceo), not him top down like now in usa.
4. this keep the free press and stop the rupert murdoch type man keep all ameriki so stupid if buy him corporation which to own so many station and newspaper and radio and keep ameriki the stupid people.
after follow mullah cimoc method benjamin frankling to be the proud.
for true info: stop1984now@yahoo.com
Posted by: mullah cimoc | December 18, 2007 8:49 PM | Permalink to Comment