The Senate Thursday night voted, without debate, to invalidate the Federal Communications Commission's Dec. 18 decision to loosen the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule.

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) has been pushing hard for the resolution of disapproval, which passed the Senate Commerce Committee last month. He argued that media consolidation has already led to a lack of localism and diveristy, so any more loosening of rules is uncalled for.

The measure passed on a voice vote, with Dorgan saying the vote sent the signal to the FCC to "get things right." He decried what he said were three of the five FCC commissioners becoming cheerleaders for more consolidation.

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