Antinuclear

Rupert Murdoch extending his media empire in USA

Will the FCC Give Rupert Murdoch the Powerful Gift of Media Consolidation?, 26 November 2012   By Mike Ludwig, Truthout |   Just in time for the holidays, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering changes to media cross-ownership rules that watchdogs say could good give Rupert Murdoch’s massive conglomerate News Corporation the go-ahead to acquire more big media outlets.

The proposal could also keep women and minorities out of the media market, according to civil rights groups.

Reports suggest Murdoch has recovered from the British phone hacking scandal and is ready to jump back into the media consolidation game. Both the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times are on the list of potential targets.
These acquisitions would be illegal unless the FCC changes its rules, according to the media watchdog group Free Press.

The details are not yet public, but according to reports, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a proposal last week among his fellow commissioners that would end a longstanding ban on owning the major daily newspaper and radio outlets in the same market, and would allow one company to jointly own a daily newspaper and TV stations in the nation’s top 20 markets.
Restrictions on media “cross ownership” were put in place to prevent
media owners like Murdoch from monopolizing the news and information
available in a single area, especially major media markets. The FCC
could vote on the proposal as early as December.
“Chairman Genachowski’s attempt to overhaul longstanding media
ownership limits is little more than a gift-wrapped giveaway to Rupert
Murdoch,” said Free Press President Craig Aaron…….
The FCC is coming under fire for considering the proposal without
holding public hearings, and civil rights groups have warned the FCC
not to move forward without considering how the new rules could impact
minority media ownership.
“It has been suggested by some media outlets that there is little
opposition to the FCC’s proposed course of action, particularly within
the civil rights and public interest communities. This is simply not
true,” said Jessica Gonzalez, a policy expert with the National
Hispanic Media Coalition. “A number of voices … have consistently
said that the FCC must explore any and all impacts on ownership
diversity before moving ahead with any rule changes.”
Women own just 7 percent of commercial radio and TV stations, while
ethnic and racial minorities control as little as 5 percent of these
TV stations and 8 percent of radio stations, according to FCC data.
Murdoch’s News Corp. already owns the New York Post and the Wall
Street Journal, as well as Fox News and TV studios and channels across
the world. Genachowski’s proposed changes may allow Disney,
Comcast-NBC and Sinclair Broadcast Group to gobble up more channels as
well. http://links.visibli.com/share/9N7qV2

November 27, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized