The Good FCC
On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission, by a bare majority, voted to lift its over three decade old prohibition against an entity owning a newspaper and a television station in the same market. Most FCC watchers will now shift their visors to Congress and the circuit courts, where media reform activists will doubtless turn in […]
Forget XM/Sirius; give satellite radio to the listeners
Merger proposals are dangerous moments for the masters of our telecommunications sector. When two or three media moguls go hat in hand to the Federal Communications Commission, asking for permission to unite, they unleash a public comment cycle on the question. That always releases the dreamers and reformers, who come up with alternative scenarios for […]
The FCC's new 'payola' rules
Four radio giants have agreed to pay the United States government a total $12.5 million dollars to settle an Federal Communications Commission investigation into their “payola” practices—the undisclosed play of music in exchange for cash, gifts, or favors. The FCC says that CBS radio, Entercom Communications, Clear Channel Communications, and Citadel Broadcasting will agree to: […]