Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said Thursday that the recent newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership-rule change approved by the Federal Communications Commission was the kind of special-interest-engineered change he opposes, and he sought a quick vote on the bill in the full Senate. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who is motormanning the effort, said Tuesday that the bill was on a fast track.

“We must ensure that we have an open media market that represents diverse voices throughout the country," Obama said in a statement e-mailed to B&C. "The rules promoting the public interest and diversity in media ownership are too important for the FCC to accept an agenda supported by the Washington special interests that I have fought against for more than a year.”

Both Obama and his Democratic presidential opponent, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), co-sponsored the bill, introduced by both Dorgan and former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.). The bill -- a resolution, actually -- essentially invalidates the FCC's Dec. 18 vote to loosen the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban.

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