Congress passes provision on ban
Prohibits funding on cross-ownership rule
|
More Articles:
Most Viewed:
Spielberg abandons 'Harvey'(1943 views)'Blind Side' gains B.O. yardage over 'New Moon'(1838 views)Nine(1797 views)Taylor Lautner to star in 'Max Steel'(969 views)Johnny Depp eyes Pancho Villa role(893 views)Bennett Miller to direct 'Moneyball'(692 views) |
Late Tuesday, a House appropriations subcommittee greenlit a bill containing a provision that would prohibit funding the new rule, which the FCC voted to approve last December.
The move -- which has implications for Tribune, as well as other media congloms -- follows Senate passage earlier this year of a "resolution of disapproval" that would nullify the rule. The House has yet to act on a similar resolution, but if the defunding provision survives mark-up, expected for next week, it could achieve the same effect.
In either case, President Bush would ultimately have to add his stamp of approval, which is unlikely. But the actions signal increasing hostility on Capitol Hill to easing or loosening any media ownership rules. Numerous media watchdog and consumer groups have also vociferously criticized the rule change. Efforts to oppose or stop it show no signs of diminishing.
"I believe that the loosening of media consolidation rules is detrimental to the goals of diversity in ownership and viewpoints, as well as to localism and independence in the news media," said Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee, which passed the defunding provision.
After a lengthy review of media ownership rules -- required periodically by Congress -- the FCC voted only to relax the cross-ownership ban, allowing for media companies to own both a newspaper and a broadcast station in one of the top 20 markets in the country. Other conditions were also applied.
As part of the sale of Tribune to real estate mogul Sam Zell, the company sought permanent waivers for the cross-ownership it has in several markets, most notably Los Angeles (the Times and KTLA-TV). The FCC granted only temporary waivers.
Tribune has appealed the FCC decision, and as part of its appeal, it is arguing that the cross-ownership rule should be eliminated completely.
