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Dyers on America I izen s ass 11age I of 27 r PLWI E I I I I I h.a >Seamh Capitol Crimes eIs God Green? 4The Net at 17,2006 SBER BLOG Net @ Risk: Big, Bigger, Biggest Media Comment on this Do you think that media consolidation is a problem? CLA55 TOPICS Backgrounder: Big and Bigger Media • Capitol Crimee Media ownership rules are again a topic of debate on Capitol Hill, as the rules come o Abramoff, I up for a review and Republican Kevin Martin undergoes hearings to reconfirm him as o Congressio Ethics chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Senator Barbara Boxer grilled o Fixing the Martin about an FCC study on local media ownership, which found local reporting O The Land o decreased markedly after the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In 1984, the number • Is God Green-, of companies owning controlling interests in America's media was 50 - today that o Common G number is six. Critics of media consolidation say it has led to fewer and fewer voices o Reiigon..& being heard - and a marked decrease in local news coverage. Some media watchers Environmet are worried that the much touted "free for all" of the Internet will go the same way. o Religion an Proponents of "net neutrality" worry that the cable and telecom companies providing Politics O Your Envirc the bulk of Internet connectivity will use new fee structures, which may favor some • The Net @ Ris content providers over others. Phone and cable companies have a near monopoly o Big, Bigger over Internet service. More precisely, it's a 'duopoly' - which means that in more than Biggest Me 90 percent of American homes in the U.S... [more] O Community Connection j o Net Neutra Class Is in Session... o The New D In 1941, the federal government regulated the ownership of media outlets to ensure a Divide broad spectrum of opinion. The Local Radio Ownership Rule, National TV Ownership SEARCH Rule stated that a broadcaster cannot own television stations that reach more than - 35% of the nation's homes. Many other regulations followed as the American media search this biog: landscape changed. In the 1980s the climate changed in the U.S. fewer federal regulations became the order of the day under President Reagan. (View a timeline of search media regulation.) ARCHIVES Then came the Telecommunications Act of 1996, signed into law by President Clinton. • October 2006 It is generally regarded as the most important legislation regulating media ownership in • September 20 over a decade. The radio industry experienced unprecedented consolidation after the RECENT POSTS 40-station ownership cap was lifted. Clear Channel Communications now owns 1200 stations, in all 50 states, reaching, according to their Web site, more than 110 million • The Net @ Ris gge listeners every week. Viacom's Infinity radio network holds more than 180 radio Mfed ar, BiggeE stations in 41 markets. Its holdings are concentrated in the 50 largest radio markets in the United States. In 1999, Infinity owned and operated six of the nation's Top 10 radio ®Subscribe to t stations. feed [What is this?] http://www.pbs.org/moyers/citizensclass/the-net-risk/big_bigger_biggest_media/ 10/27/2006