Senator Blasts FCC Ownership Proposals

Influential Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is criticizing proposals to relax the FCC's media ownership rules, calling on chairman Julius Genachowski to have a public vote on the changes at the next commission meeting.

According to a story by Ted Johnson at variety.com, her letter is dated Nov. 29 and calls the FCC's draft order "disappointing."

She wrote, "FCC rules are supposed to serve the public interest. However, this proposed draft order appears to only serve the interest of large media companies that have made bad business decisions. There is no reason to do this. While it may be good for Wall Street, it is not good for Main Street."

Although details of the commission’s changes have not be release, an FCC spokesman has said that the goal would be to "streamline and modernize" the rules, including "eliminating outdated prohibitions on newspaper-radio and TV-radio cross ownership."

There have been reports that the FCC would take the media ownership regulations up at its December meeting, but the agenda has not been released and a spokesman for Genachowski has not said if it would appear among the items.

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