• by Frank Saxe , March 2, 2003

Diversity, competition and localism were what the five Federal Communications Commissioners traveled to snowy Richmond, Virginia to hear last week. Instead, it took six hours of testimony largely debating media consolidation’s merits and evils. As the snow turned to rain in the late afternoon hour, it was clear that the one and only “official” public hearing would be less about answers and more of the debate that has waged since the 1996 Telecommunications Act was passed allowing media deregulation.

“We all agree that some broadcast ownership limits are critical if we are to maintain a robust marketplace of ideas,” said FCC chairman Michael Powell as the hearing opened. The fight is over just how much or how little regulation is needed. For each speaker, it was as much about the interest they represented.

Newspaper Association of America president/CEO John Sturm urged the Commission to do away with a 28 year old rule barring a company from owning a newspaper and a TV or radio station in the same market. Sturm said the 40 “grand fathered” newspaper/broadcast offer superior news products both in print and on the air. “The ban is long outdated, has no current basis, and should be immediately repealed in full,” he urged.

But other newspaper executives said lifting the cross-media ownership ban would only hurt an already troubled industry. “Repeal of the cross-ownership rules would be a giant crack in the foundation of our democracy,” said Seattle Times publisher/CEO Frank Blethen, who lamented the fact there are now less than 300 independent newspapers in America, adding, “American’s newsrooms have quietly been transformed from democracy’s watchdog to corporate watchdogs.” Manchester, Connecticut’s Journal Inquirer managing editor Chris Powell agreed. He said their small daily is already been squeezed by Tribune’s dominant position in the state where it owns the largest daily, the Hartford Courant, as well as a TV station.

“The FCC should not allow mergers in markets that are already highly concentrated,” said Linda Foley, president of the Newspaper Guild-CWA. If the FCC does do away with the ban on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership, she urged the FCC to force the company to have separate newsrooms, arguing, “It does in fact foster competition among reporters for local scoops.”

The newspaper regulation is one of several media rules the FCC is reviewing; most focus on television. For many, the fact there are dozens of cable TV channels offers little comfort. “More channels don’t mean more choices,” said Victoria Riskin, president of the Writers Guild of America. Riskin said the six largest media conglomerates, such as Viacom and Disney, own 80% of cable channels.

But LIN Television regional VP Ed Munson countered that there can be benefits to allowing further consolidation, explaining that when LIN bought a second station in Norfolk, VA, it started a 10 pm newscast and news viewing went up in the market by 10%. In an era where newsrooms in big markets are going dark, Munson said the FCC must weigh the “realities of the new media marketplace.”

Although the changes to the television industry are potentially greater, much of the debate centered on the radio industry, which has seen a great deal more of consolidation since 1996. Yet Clear Channel president Mark Mays told the Commission that an analogy of radio as the “canary in the coalmine” should be abandoned. “The canary isn’t dead, it is alive and well, and is healthier and more robust than it has been before. Radio is experiencing a new vitality.”

“That canary is still in the coalmine and he’s alive, but he immediately got acquired and he is now programming 12 radio stations,” fired back FCC commissioner Michael Copps, who has led the charge against consolidation.

Mays also testified that Clear Channel stations air 30% more artists and songs in 2003 than they did just four years ago. One reason, said Mays, is that its stations have a broader variety of formats. The largest minority owner, Radio One, has done the same as its portfolio of stations targeting African-Americans has grown. “You don’t want to compete with yourself,” said president Alfred Liggins.

It is that competition that forces broadcasters to “take chances” and put more questionable programming on the air, said Liggins. To many at yesterday’s hearing, content became the touchstone. Parents Television Council founder Brent Bozell reiterated his oft-heard complaint that “sludge” is filling the airwaves. “I don’t believe there is conspiracy going on here, however the reality is the last several years it is getting worse and worse and we are seeing more and more consolidation,” said Bozell.

But chairman Powell called that connection “fabricated,” pointing out that TV programming was remarkably bland in the 1950’s when just three companies vied for viewers.

The Commission also heard figures from National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters CEO James Winston, which indicate the number of minority radio owners has dropped 14% since the Telecom Act became law. With just 20 minority TV owners, Winston said its energy is better spent focusing on radio, although he said others may have had “too much of a head start” for minorities and women to catch up. “If that’s not a big red stop sign, it’s certainly a yellow caution light,” responded commissioner Copps.

There remains a lot of road between yesterday’s hearing and a final decision. The FCC is sticking to its timetable of announcing its decisions this Spring. Like the snowy highway leading from Richmond back to Washington, it is slick and dangerous – and it is one few wish they were on.