TALLAHASSEE—Local
communities in Florida will be directly impacted if the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) relaxes or eliminates current limitations on media
ownership, according to new research examining the impact of potential
media mergers in Miami, Tallahassee, and Panama City. The report,
prepared by economic experts on behalf of Florida members of the Media
and Democracy Coalition, examines what would happen if the largest
newspaper and largest TV station in each city merged, which would be
allowed if a pending FCC proposal moves forward.
"Bigger,
and fewer media outlets with less interest in local news would be bad
for Florida's consumers and bad for democracy," said Brad Ashwell,
Legislative Advocate for Florida PIRG. "Any public policy seeking to
protect local media content must recognize the simple fact that
limitations on media consolidation have played a critical role in
balancing the public service mission of the media with their private
profit motives," added Ashwell.
The
findings of the report, “How Bigger Media Will Hurt Florida: A Report
on Florida Media Markets and The Impact of Newspaper/TV Cross-Ownership
Mergers”, include the following:
• Many Florida citizens already live in highly concentrated media markets with few choices for news and views.
•
Even in Miami, one of the largest and least concentrated markets in the
country, any cross media merger involving the top two firms would
increase media concentration in excess of the Department of Justice and
Federal Trade Commission’s Merger Guidelines.
•
The smaller media markets of Tallahassee and Panama City already exceed
the DOJ/FTC Merger Guidelines; therefore, an additional merger in
either market could significantly harm citizens in those communities.
“Giving
citizens a variety of viewpoints and plenty of local views are two of
our nation’s most important media policy goals,” said Rich Templin, an
independent media radio show host and communications director for the
Florida AFL-CIO. “If the FCC allows these mergers, it will be harder
for citizens to even learn about, let alone respond to local issues
such as crime, schools and traffic,” added Templin.
This
research was prepared by The Media and Democracy Coalition (MDC) in
response to a call by the FCC for public comments on proposed changes
to its media ownership rules that would allow mergers between the
dominant local newspaper and local television station and also allow
media conglomerates to own a greater percentage of all the television
stations in local markets. In 2003, the FCC had voted to weaken these
rules, but its action was rejected by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of
Appeals, in an action brought by coalition member Prometheus Radio
Project of Philadelphia.
It
is ironic that the FCC is poised to open the floodgates to wholesale
consolidation when it has recently come to light that former Chairman
Michael Powell buried studies by FCC staff showing that media
consolidation is harmful to local communities and that locally-owned
stations provided significantly more local news than national
conglomerates," said Dr. Andy Opel, a Professor of Communications and
Media Studies at Florida State University. The FCC staff analysis found
that local ownership of television stations adds almost five and
one-half minutes of total news to broadcasts and more than three
minutes of "on-location" news.
"Taken
together, this report and the FCC research demonstrate that additional
mergers in these Florida markets could significantly harm citizens in
those communities," said MDC study’s authors, Dr. Mark Cooper, research
director of Consumer Federation of America, and Philip Napoli,
assistant professor of communications and media management at Fordham
University, leading experts on the structure and economics of our
nation’s media.
With
the FCC now again considering whether to relax or eliminate its
ownership rules, this research answers the Appeals Court’s call for
better analysis of media concentration in local communities. “The data
clearly demonstrate that any further relaxation or elimination of media
ownership limits by the FCC is not in the public interest,” said Ben
Wilcox, Executive Director of Common Cause Florida.
In
2003, the FCC received over three million public comments opposing its
attempt to increase media concentration. Florida PIRG and other MDC
organizations are again urging all citizens to file comments at the FCC
opposing its latest effort to loosen crucial media ownership limits.
“We
need more, not fewer media outlets competing in the marketplace of news
and ideas,” concluded Wilcox. “Localism and diversity are the
cornerstones of a democratic media system, and we cannot afford to
compromise them in any way."
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