It's all over the news today, and to be honest, this inexperienced pundit still doesn't know if it promises good ... or rather less bad. But it looks to me like some sanity might have taken root on Capitol HIll.
In 2007, the FCC (despite overwhelming public comment to the contrary) voted to allow media companies to own both a major TV or radio station and a major newspaper in the same city. This could be seen to encourage further consolidation of a media industry many seem to see as too consolidated as it is.
Thursday night, the Senate nearly-unanimously voted to overturn that decision, using a device known as a "resolution of disapproval", introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who was quoted by media watcher Josh Sliver as saying:
the FCC is supposed to be a referee for the media industry, but instead they've been cheerleaders in favor of more consolidation. ... We already have too much concentration in the media
Josh Silver further interprets:
The "newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban" that the FCC is trying to get rid of has been in place since 1975. It keeps media outlets from merging already stripped-down local newsrooms in the name of "synergy" and protects diversity of viewpoints in the local press, something the Supreme Court has recognized is critical to the health of our democracy. Thursday's vote sends a clear message to media executives and the FCC that further media consolidation will not be tolerated.
Hope for a better tomorrow? We don't know. We imagine that many will take it as a sign of hope.
Read Josh Silver's full article at this link.
I look at what’s happened to radio and I think consolidation has really been a disaster. It's nothing more than a few companies with very large holdings with little creativity or independent thinking. I just think of New York and Rupert Murdoch. Those poor people. That leaves the internet to fill in the gaps. Patty Chayefsky’s vision for media is alive and well – and with a vengeance.
My error -- thanks for pointing it out, Spiro. It's Paddy.