What the New York Times Won't Tell You
By Jeffrey Chester, AlterNet
March 26, 2003
On Dec. 3, 2001, the New York Times Co., along with many other major
newspaper and broadcasting companies, filed voluminous documents at the
Federal Communications Commission. The Times Co. strongly urged the FCC to
abandon the quarter-century old safeguard that prevents a company from
owning both a newspaper and a broadcast outlet in the same community.
Broadcast networks urged that rules restricting the number of TV stations
that one network can operate be scuttled as well. These filings are
currently being reviewed by the FCC as part of its most significant proposed
overhaul of the ownership policies that shape the US media marketplace.
The Times has not yet disclosed in its pages what its corporate FCC filing
is asking for - or what it might mean for the public - including the future
of journalism. Nor have the broadcast networks' newscasts reported the
demands of their corporate parents. At stake in these proposed changes are
the number of media outlets a single company can own both at the local and
national level, including the cross-ownership of papers and TV stations that
the Times Co. and other media conglomerates covet.
This high-stakes game for the control of media properties involves a who's
who of American media power that includes Cox, Gannett, Tribune, GE/NBC,
Disney/ABC. Both Rupert Murdoch of Fox/News Corp. and Mel Karmazin of
Viacom/CBS have recently made the rounds at the FCC, with Karmazin visiting
Washington twice in February alone.
What the New York Times Won't Tell You
By Jeffrey Chester, AlterNet
March 26, 2003
On Dec. 3, 2001, the New York Times Co., along with many other major
newspaper and broadcasting companies, filed voluminous documents at the
Federal Communications Commission. The Times Co. strongly urged the FCC to
abandon the quarter-century old safeguard that prevents a company from
owning both a newspaper and a broadcast outlet in the same community.
Broadcast networks urged that rules restricting the number of TV stations
that one network can operate be scuttled as well. These filings are
currently being reviewed by the FCC as part of its most significant proposed
overhaul of the ownership policies that shape the US media marketplace.
The Times has not yet disclosed in its pages what its corporate FCC filing
is asking for - or what it might mean for the public - including the future
of journalism. Nor have the broadcast networks' newscasts reported the
demands of their corporate parents. At stake in these proposed changes are
the number of media outlets a single company can own both at the local and
national level, including the cross-ownership of papers and TV stations that
the Times Co. and other media conglomerates covet.
This high-stakes game for the control of media properties involves a who's
who of American media power that includes Cox, Gannett, Tribune, GE/NBC,
Disney/ABC. Both Rupert Murdoch of Fox/News Corp. and Mel Karmazin of
Viacom/CBS have recently made the rounds at the FCC, with Karmazin visiting
Washington twice in February alone.
What the New York Times Won't Tell You
By Jeffrey Chester, AlterNet
March 26, 2003
On Dec. 3, 2001, the New York Times Co., along with many other major
newspaper and broadcasting companies, filed voluminous documents at the
Federal Communications Commission. The Times Co. strongly urged the FCC to
abandon the quarter-century old safeguard that prevents a company from
owning both a newspaper and a broadcast outlet in the same community.
Broadcast networks urged that rules restricting the number of TV stations
that one network can operate be scuttled as well. These filings are
currently being reviewed by the FCC as part of its most significant proposed
overhaul of the ownership policies that shape the US media marketplace.
The Times has not yet disclosed in its pages what its corporate FCC filing
is asking for - or what it might mean for the public - including the future
of journalism. Nor have the broadcast networks' newscasts reported the
demands of their corporate parents. At stake in these proposed changes are
the number of media outlets a single company can own both at the local and
national level, including the cross-ownership of papers and TV stations that
the Times Co. and other media conglomerates covet.
This high-stakes game for the control of media properties involves a who's
who of American media power that includes Cox, Gannett, Tribune, GE/NBC,
Disney/ABC. Both Rupert Murdoch of Fox/News Corp. and Mel Karmazin of
Viacom/CBS have recently made the rounds at the FCC, with Karmazin visiting
Washington twice in February alone.
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID482
