• The Hollywood Reporter , Monday, October 23, 2006 11:30 AM

Easing rules that bar a single company from owning a newspaper and broadcast outlet in the same market would allow just a few individuals to dominate news coverage in many communities across the nation, according to a new study.

The Media and Democracy Coalition research found that eliminating the restriction could enable one company to increase its market power beyond the limit antitrust rules allowed when they decide whether to permit mergers. But while consumer groups are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to keep the cross-ownership bars, an industry think tank urges it to throw them out.

In the Media and Democracy Coalition study, authors applied the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index to media markets to give what they say is a truer picture of what happens when one company owns print and broadcast properties in the same market. And "that is not a marketplace where ideas can develop and have antagonism," said Consumer Federation of America Research Director Mark Cooper. "That is a disaster for American democracy."

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