Lawmaker Rips FCC On Media Ownership Rules

Rep. Bob Goodlatte

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) on Thursday tore into the Federal Communications Commission's updated media ownership rules, according to The Hill.

The FCC’s rules, released Wednesday, dictate that entities cannot own both a newspaper and broadcast station in the same market. The requirement isn’t new, but the FCC decided this month to keep the regulation in place after a review.

In a statement, Goodlatte said the FCC had “overreacted” and that it was “likely to harm the objectives of smaller media outlets eager to compete.”

Mignon Clyburn

“Today, the FCC continues its recent tradition of advancing unnecessary and burdensome regulations on a partisan basis while ignoring new technologies and market realities, with the likely outcome of harming competition,” he said.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) also noted its disappointment on the ruling in a letter to the FCC, and the group later sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the agency for documents regarding the decision.

The NAB characterized the FCC’s decision as a “ ‘head in the sand’ approach” to the media marketplace.

Ajit Pai

According to the FCC's release, the decision to maintain most of the existing rules came down to a 3-2 vote on Aug. 10.

Commissioner Mignon Clyburn defended the decision in a statement.

“We are on the cusp of seeing major changes to the television landscape,” she said. “There will be fewer broadcast television stations on the air post-auction. Relaxing the Commission’s media ownership rules at this time, will neither increase the number of diverse stations nor will it create additional local voices.”

Commissioner Ajit Pai gave the dissenting statement. Pai highlighted the significant changes that have taken place in media since the rules were drafted in 1975 and expressed his disappointment that the rules have not been altered to keep up with the times.