Press Release
Broadcasters Behaving Badly
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
Washington, DC — As both House and Senate committees held hearings on indecency in broadcast programming, Free Press founder Robert McChesney said today that the public outcry over the controversial Super Bowl half-time show is fresh reason for Congress to consider the consequences of the Federal Communications Commission's decision last June to dramatically relax media ownership limits.
The FCC's move, which sparked opposition from millions of Americans from across the political spectrum, has been put on hold by the U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, which today heard oral arguments in the legal challenge to the FCC's order.
"The Super Bowl half-time show that has spurred these hearings was an example of corporate synergy gone wild," said McChesney, a professor at the University of Illinois and author of Rich Media, Poor Democracy. The controversial half-time show was produced by MTV and aired by CBS, which are both owned by media conglomerate Viacom.
"Congress must address what's really indecent about the media today: Big Media getting ever bigger," McChesney said. "Increasing consolidation is a root cause of rising sensationalism and racy content on television. Allowing even more concentration will make it more likely for the bottom line to prevail over the public interest."
The FCC's new ownership rules would allow a single company to buy multiple local television stations, up to eight radio stations, the dominant newspaper and the cable system in a given community. Critics have argued that the rules will lead to less diversity of viewpoint in news and information; a further decline of independent media; less minority ownership of media; and a loss of localism.
Congress has yet to enact comprehensive legislation addressing citizen concerns about the FCC's decision, such as the criticism of lifting the ban on cross-ownership of newspaper and broadcast properties in a community.
Free Press is a national public interest group that seeks to increase informed public participation in media policy and to promote a more competitive, public interest-oriented media system.
The FCC's move, which sparked opposition from millions of Americans from across the political spectrum, has been put on hold by the U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, which today heard oral arguments in the legal challenge to the FCC's order.
"The Super Bowl half-time show that has spurred these hearings was an example of corporate synergy gone wild," said McChesney, a professor at the University of Illinois and author of Rich Media, Poor Democracy. The controversial half-time show was produced by MTV and aired by CBS, which are both owned by media conglomerate Viacom.
"Congress must address what's really indecent about the media today: Big Media getting ever bigger," McChesney said. "Increasing consolidation is a root cause of rising sensationalism and racy content on television. Allowing even more concentration will make it more likely for the bottom line to prevail over the public interest."
The FCC's new ownership rules would allow a single company to buy multiple local television stations, up to eight radio stations, the dominant newspaper and the cable system in a given community. Critics have argued that the rules will lead to less diversity of viewpoint in news and information; a further decline of independent media; less minority ownership of media; and a loss of localism.
Congress has yet to enact comprehensive legislation addressing citizen concerns about the FCC's decision, such as the criticism of lifting the ban on cross-ownership of newspaper and broadcast properties in a community.
Free Press is a national public interest group that seeks to increase informed public participation in media policy and to promote a more competitive, public interest-oriented media system.
