FCC Buried Media Ownership Report

I’m on vacation and trying to stay off the internets, but this one just shouldn’t be missed.

Back when the FCC made its first stab at revising media ownership rules, then-Chairman Powell and his fellow Republicans argued that localism and service to communities was an entirely separate issue than who owns the media outlets that serve them.

Then it was just a specious argument. Now we know it was a lie.

That’s because it’s just come to light that the Commission destroyed all copies of a research report that concluded that local ownership results in longer newscasts and more “on location” news.

Stop Big Media has a leaked copy of the report the FCC doesn’t want us to see.

Yet we’re still waiting for the promised research report for the present revision of media ownership rules, for which public comments are due next week. Now we have to wonder if any reports that don’t toe Chairman Martin’s line will ever see the light of day.

Or maybe, the reason why we haven’t see any reports is because they all say what we already know: looser media ownership regs, means increased consolidation, which is bad for communities, diversity of information and viewpoint, and democracy.

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