This Thursday, November 16, the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to vote on an order on reconsideration that will radically alter the media ownership regulations that are enforced by the agency. The changes are substantial and include: The elimination of the Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-Ownership Rule The elimination of the Radio/Television Cross-Ownership Rule A revision to the […]
The Federal Communications Commission just proposed new ownership rules that would drastically loosen restrictions on broadcast station ownership limits. Prof. Christopher Terry from the University of Minnesota joins us again to help understand this proposal, and the threat to local journalism and broadcasting. He argues that it has be viewed in an historical context, with […]
Today the Telecommunications Act of 1996 turns 21. As some have remarked, the law is now old enough to drink, even while others note that it’s driven many to drink in the last two decades. Happy Birthday 1996 Telecom Act. You’re old enough to drink now, which is fair since that’s what you’ve made the […]
The FCC has made nearly zero progress in its Congressionally mandated review and revision of media ownership rules for more than a decade. Instead the Commission has been dragging its feet for 13 years by failing to comply adequately to the ruling of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Prometheus v. FCC, which challenges […]
Editor’s Note: Prof. Terry also guests on this week’s Radio Survivor Podcast, which is a companion to this post. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals recently handed down a decision in a third round of the case Prometheus Radio Project v FCC. This decision, while reasonably straightforward, has the potential to be earth shattering to […]
The Federal Communications Commission’s media ownership rules are once again the spotlight of attention. After years of litigation and turmoil, the agency is again considering a deregulatory measure that would make it easier for TV networks to buy newspapers in major markets. The specter of Rupert Murdoch purchasing more newspapers hangs over this proceeding (his […]
This is what consolidation looks like. Industry veteran Jerry DelColliano called it: hundreds of Clear Channel employees, including management like program directors and on-air talent, received pink slips Thursday. DelColliano also thinks that this move is anticipation of a possible merger. News of firings has come in from Clear Channel stations in Tampa, Denver, Detroit, […]
KTUF-FM‘s Helen Adams is retiring after 45 years of service. She began her stint at the Kirksville, Missouri FM country music radio station in 1967. “When I started here I was fresh out of high school: secretary, receptionist, traffic controller who schedules the commercials on the programs,” Adams recalled. “I did that for eighteen years.” […]
The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing its media ownership rules again. That ordeal took up quite a bit of public bandwidth over the last decade, especially after former FCC Chair Michael Powell proposed scotching most of them. Now we’re back to square one, with the Commission launching a Notice of Inquiry about its current ownership […]
