Media Consolidation

Resolution of Disapproval: Federal Communications Commission Media Ownership Rules

Migrated Content — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:52:42 -0700

Senate Joint Resolution 28, introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), would rescind the Federal Communications Commission's December 2007 vote to remove the "newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership" ban prohibiting one company from owning a broadcast station and the major daily newspaper in the same media market.

Off the Dial: How Media Consolidation Diminishes Diversity on the Radio

Craig Aaron — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:04:58 -0800

This new study chronicles how the failed policies and practices of the Federal Communications Commission led to the disgracefully low levels of minority and female radio station ownership in America.

L.A. Times Outlines 'Painful' Cuts

Stevie Converse — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:25:12 -0700

The Los Angeles Times plans to cut approximately 150 positions—or about 17 percent—from its print and Internet newsroom staff and reduce the number of pages it publishes each week by 15 percent, Times Publisher David Hiller and Editor Russ Stanton informed staff Wednesday.

Radio Host Rush Limbaugh Talkin' Big Payday

Stevie Converse — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:58:50 -0700

Rush Limbaugh and Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks have agreed to a contract extension that will pay the conservative talk-radio pundit more than $400 million through 2016.

The eight-year extension includes a $100 million signing bonus, Limbaugh told the New York Times. The deal comes about a month before the broadcaster celebrates 20 years in syndication August 8.

LA Times to Cut 250 jobs, including 150 News Jobs

Stevie Converse — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:47:55 -0700

The Los Angeles Times plans to cut 250 positions, including 150 jobs in the print and online news departments, amid a continuing industrywide slump in ad sales, the paper's editor said Wednesday.

Save the Press

Stevie Converse — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:44:51 -0700

On the lobby wall of the newspaper where I got my first reporting job are the Thomas Jefferson words that journalists like to trot out as Independence Day nears:

“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

The Case Against Google-Yahoo

Stevie Converse — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:06:43 -0700

Google and Yahoo say there are plenty of reasons why their recently announced plan to work together on Internet-search advertising should pass muster with regulators. For starters, it's not a merger and it covers only a small part of Yahoo's search business. Besides, it's not exclusive—so either side can strike comparable deals with third parties.

Two Issues with Major Repercussions for Consumers at FCC -- Cell Phone Fees and Satellite Radio

Stevie Converse — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:34:03 -0700

Two issues that could have major repercussions for consumers are now floating around the executive offices of the Federal Communications Commission headquarters.

Producers, Writers Take on FCC Indecency Regime

Stevie Converse — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:39:30 -0700

Some big-time Hollywood producers and writers said the Federal Communications Commission's content-chilling regime needs to be reined in for the sake of viewers, content creators and the First Amendment, but reining in consolidated media rather than content might be the solution to the FCC's "understandable" concern about some objectionable TV content.

The Hidden History of U.S. Broadcasting

Stevie Converse — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:05:51 -0700

The US broadcast media regime, in which greedy, amoral corporations enjoy completely free monopoly licenses to run their highly profitable businesses upon the scarce public property that is the broadcast spectrum is usually presented to us as the only “natural” and sensible media order.

Tampa Tribune Newsroom to Lose 21 More Jobs by Year's End

Stevie Converse — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:24:30 -0700

Executives at Media General's Tampa Tribune and WFLA-Ch. 8 are informing employees today of a new plan to ramp up convergence at the company's media outlets in Tampa -- a plan that will include the involuntary layoff of 21 positions from the newspaper's editorial staff and a loss of 10 positions from the television station's newsroom.

CBS Finalizes CNET Deal, Names Execs

Stevie Converse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:50:08 -0700

CBS finalized its acquisition of CNET Networks, having merged CNET’s properties into the now-expanded CBS Interactive division.

Senate Democrats Weigh In on XM-Srius

Stevie Converse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:32:41 -0700

With the Federal Communications Commission members kicking around the compromise proposal for an XM Satellite Radio-Sirius Satellite Radio merger and both Democrats and Republicans still talking of wanting to get a decision out the door "soon," several high-profile Democrats weighed in saying that the proposal does not go far enough for their liking.

Localism Not Just for Disasters

Megan Tady — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:48:34 -0700

You might have seen some of the coverage the national press gave to recent floods in Iowa. It was a dramatic event that frequently brought comparisons to Hurricane Katrina. Eighty-three of Iowa’s 99 counties have been declared disaster areas and some of the worst damage was done in Cedar Rapids, where it is estimated that up to one-fifth of the population was displaced by the damage.

Buckling Under Boldface Debt

Holiday Shapiro — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:19:17 -0700

Media giant Tribune Co. has found itself trying to wage a war on two fronts. And the struggle is starting to take its toll.

Even the healthiest U.S. newspaper companies are battling declining circulation and advertising revenue. The same is true at Tribune's nine daily English-language newspapers, which include the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and the Baltimore Sun.

Oh, 'Courant': Hartford Paper to Cut Staff, Pages

Holiday Shapiro — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:48:54 -0700

In apparently keeping with Tribune Co. boss Sam Zell's directive to seek both staff and page cuts if needed to save money, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant has announced plans to do both.

In a memo to staff, first posted on the Poynter.org Romenesko site, Editor Cliff Teutsch has revealed plans to cut news pages from 273 per week to 206, while cutting staff positions from 232 to about 175.

L.A. Times Headquarters May be Sold

Holiday Shapiro — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:44:17 -0700

Cash-strapped Tribune Co. is considering putting two of its signature properties -- the Los Angeles Times' main office downtown and Tribune Tower in Chicago -- on the block.

The Black Stake, and All Our Stakes, in the Media Justice Movement

Stevie Converse — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:35:28 -0700

Mass media determine public consciousness. But in the US, where mass media are owned and operated almost entirely by and in the interest of a greedy and irresponsible corporate elite, who keep the issues of control and governance of the internet, cable, broadcast and other media off the table.

Sinclair to Buy Raycom Station for $85M

Holiday Shapiro — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:08:23 -0700

Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Tuesday that it will buy the assets of WTVR, the CBS affiliate in the Richmond-Petersburg, Va., market, from Raycom Media for $85 million.

Diversity in Entertainment: Why Is TV So White?

Stevie Converse — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:31:20 -0700

Cleveland Brown favors gentle words, and few words at that. He likes yellow T-shirts and baths. He is also fiercely proud of his African-American heritage, as evidenced by his ''Two Decades of Dignity'' board game and that nice talk he had with a racist cop about how a black bowling ball might feel when surrounded by white pins.