FCC Expected To Take Action On Media Ownership Rules

On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission will be voting to eliminate a number of restrictions on media ownership, according to The Hill.

The rules on the chopping block include prohibitions against the common ownership of both a newspaper and broadcast station in the same market. The restrictions, which have been in place for more than 40 years, are aimed at ensuring that communities have access to a diverse set of news outlets.

But Ajit Pai, the FCC's Republican chairman, says that the rules are outdated and prevent news organizations from being competitive in a market where ad dollars are being vacuumed up by internet giants like Facebook and Google.

"This rule was established in 1975 with the stated purpose of preserving and promoting a diversity of viewpoints," Pai wrote in an op-ed for The NYTimes on Thursday.

"Arguably, it made sense at the time. But with the internet now dominating the news landscape, the rule is no longer needed, and may actually be undermining the diversity of viewpoints it was intended to foster."

But critics say the change will lead to increased media consolidation, shutting out smaller, independent owners from the market.

"He's fulfilling a longstanding industry wish list and ignoring how decades of runaway media consolidation have significantly harmed local news and independent voices," said Free Press CEO Craig Aaron in a statement last month. "The FCC has routinely failed -- and been repeatedly scolded by the courts for doing so -- to consider how gutting these rules will impact already abysmally low levels of broadcast ownership by women and people of color."

"We need to strengthen local voices and increase viewpoint diversity, not surrender our airwaves to an ever-smaller group of giant conglomerates," Aaron added.