Rupert Murdoch's bid for another New York newspaper, Newsday, appears to have spooked some US politicians. Some are beginning to question whether the Federal Communications Commission should have eased the ban that previously prohibited ownership of a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same city.
The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved a rare "resolution of disapproval" to invalidate the FCC's new rules, as concerns about media consolidation escalated. Its leading sponsor, Senator Byron Dorgan, said: "We really do literally have five or six major corporations in this country that determine for the most part what Americans see, hear and read every day. I don't think that's healthy for our country."
Dorgan is backed by 25 senators, including Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama , and is confident it will pass the Senate. A similar bill has been proposed in the House.
It was in December that FCC chairman Kevin Martin pushed a plan through the agency that allows ownership of a newspaper and a broadcast TV or radio station in the 20 largest markets.
Martin, a Republican, says: "I think it's important that we try to reform our media ownership rules to reflect the changes in the marketplace... particularly the challenges that the newspaper industry faces."
But Murdoch's pursuit of Newsday has provided ammunition to opponents of media consolidation. In New York alone, his company, News Corp, already owns the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal, which is considered a national rather than a local paper, and two TV stations.
If his $580m bid for Newsday succeeds, even under the current rules he would probably would undergo an antitrust review. It would also complicate News Corp's attempts to renew FCC licences for its TV stations in the New York market, which expired last year. (Source: Los Angeles Times)
