Cheers to the U.S. Senate. On Tuesday, the Senate voted 55-40 on a Congressional Review Act to repeal new Federal Communication Commission rules that would ease media ownership regulations.
This move shows the Senate is still in touch with the people and not at the mercy of special interest groups that seem to shape so much policy today. The vote was a rarely used legislative tool that passed with bipartisan support, much to the dismay of the Republican leaders who led the effort for the new leniency rules.
The Senate's vote to repeal the FCC regulations was the latest installment in a battle that has been raging since June regarding how many media entities an individual company can own. The Republican-dominated commission voted in June to ease the regulations that allow a single broadcast company to own local networks that cover 35 percent of households in a given area. The new FCC rule would have upped that number to 45 percent. It was designed to appease media outlets that argued the relaxed regulations were necessary to allow them to compete with satellite broadcasting and the Internet.
Fortunately, the rules, which were to go into effect Sept. 4, were placed on hold by a federal appeals court. At least the courts have some sense.
However, the Republican party leaders who led the push for the new regulations have shown that they could simply care less about the greater public interest. Forty-five percent? Allowing a single media company to control nearly half of what Americans see and hear sounds more like a monopoly than a competitive advantage to me.
The last thing we need in this day and age is a single company owning a majority of what you see and hear. Competition among broadcast outlets drives the industry. Consumers are much more likely to get a variety of quality shows if there is a greater number of stations vying for their attention.
Moreover, such a decrease in regulation would deleteriously affect news coverage. While I am not going to accuse any certain network of bending to a certain political persuasion (cough cough) ... Fox News ... (cough cough), vigorous competition within the news broadcast industry will help the consumer get "fair and balanced" coverage.
Relaxing the 35 percent rule would stifle competition and potentially drive many smaller media outlets out of business. These news sources, especially independent newspapers, are the source of many great articles and already have a tough time staying on top of the market; even many large newspapers have gone out of business in the recent past. Making it tougher on indy papers to thrive in the media market simply to increase the bottom line for a media conglomerate isn't in the best interest of the American people.
These small stations and papers are part of what makes mass media so interesting. They promote controversy and oftentimes make the reader think about an issue in a way that a major paper or news station does not.
Tuesday's vote is a victory for the news media and an encouraging sign that many Senators are interested in acting on behalf of the American public and sticking up for the little guy.
Grant Klinzman is a journalism junior. Reach him at grant.klinzman@asu.edu.