- The Federal Communications Commission blinked in the
face of public outrage (AFP, Feb. 3, 2003) but plans a new attempt to cement
the media monopoly this spring.
-
- FCC Chairman Michael Powell told reporters March 4 that
although he expects much op position, he hopes to relax restrictions on
media monopolies by late May or early June. This will pave the way for
multinational corporations to continue buying up the last vestiges of independent
newspapers around the United States.
-
- "I perfectly expect that in an item of this magnitude
and controversy, there will be hard-won results," Powell said. "I
think the media environment will have to be partially liberalized if you
include all the factors you have to look at."
-
- Meanwhile, still another study shows that relaxing regulations
that prohibit giant media companies from buying up too many local broadcast
outlets and dominating the marketplace would result in poorer news coverage.
-
- A newly released five-year study by the Project for Excellence
in Journalism found that television stations owned by smaller companies
produced higher-quality newscasts than those owned by media moguls "by
a large margin."
-
- Fourteen local TV reporters and producers throughout
the country examined 23,806 news stories from 172 stations, evaluating
content, community interest, and whether stories showed "enterprise
and courage" or were "fair, balanced and accurate," among
other things.
-
- Their opinions, in turn, were sorted through by academics
and compared with Nielsen ratings. The entire report can be found on the
group's web site (www.journalism.org).
-
- "The data raises serious questions about regulatory
changes that lead to the concentration of vast numbers of TV stations into
the hands of a very few large corporations," the study said, echoing
other studies reported in AFP.
-
- "The findings strongly suggest that this ownership
structure, though it may prove the most profitable model, is likely to
lead to further erosion in the content and public interest value of the
local TV news Americans receive," it said.
-
- The study examined 61 station owners in five categories
based on size, location and other factors. They included owners with three
or fewer stations, those with TV stations and newspapers in the same region,
independent network affiliates, publicly traded companies and conglomerates
with dozens of properties.
-
- Data revealed that small stations did better jobs on
the heavily watched 11 p.m. Eastern newscasts.
-
- "Smaller owners were 20 times more likely [than]
large owners" to receive an A grade from their evaluators on their
late-night news, a fact that confounded researchers.
-
- "Larger companies are capable of producing high-quality
newscasts," it said. "Yet, for some reason, they often fail to
do that when most are watching."
-
- The study answered its own question about the reason
for low quality from big companies: profits. Big owners can pressure their
stations to tone down controversial reports or produce weak, one-size-fits-all
stories that could be used around the country.
-
- Smaller stations also received higher grades for their
substance. They offered longer stories, included reporters rather than
video footage alone and offered a wider range of sources for their material.
-
- http://www.americanfreepress.net/03_08_03/Iron-Fisted/iron-fisted.html</
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