• by John Gaffney , June 3, 2003

My FCC Take: This may sound to you like twisted logic, but I think Clear Channel comes out of yesterday's FCC ruling this as the hot company. Here's why it might seem twisted. The FCC put tighter caps on the amount of stations any one company can own in a particular market. And Clear Channel president Mark Mays came out with both guns firing about this ruling yesterday. You have to respect his guts on that one because the very group he was criticizing, the FCC, is the group that will decide his company's deal making fortunes over the next few years. But here's why it makes Clear Channel the hot company. This ruling forces it to look outside of radio for its growth. So it's on to TV. Clear Channel is known throughout the media business as a good business partner. It is known as a tough but fair negotiator. It is known as a truly integrated marketer, mostly from its work combining its radio, entertainment and outdoor properties for clients. The TV business needs Clear Channel right now and Clear Channel needs TV. Game's on.

Take Two: All this talk about Congressional challenges to the FCC ruling is just that: talk. I expect a couple of committees will go through the motions, and passionate speeches will be made. But Powell's FCC made sure it collected a lot of data, and it even stretched the amount of time consumers and special interest groups could comment on the rule changes. And the companies who feel hurt here (see Clear Channel) won't want to waste time and money in the courts. This is a done deal.

At The Buzzer: Martha Stewart has received the worst legal advice since Socrates. Can anyone in that camp spell "settlement?"