FCC Should Reconsider Newspaper Ownership Rule (Bloomberg)

Acting FCC chairman Michael Copps says the agency should reconsider restrictions on combined ownership of broadcast stations and newspapers as daily publications struggle with a plunge in revenue, according to a recent Bloomberg News story.

Bloomberg:

Members of Congress and Attorney General Eric Holder have said they’re concerned with the newspaper industry after four bankruptcies in as many months. Sales and advertising are dropping amid the recession and a migration of readers to the Internet. Daily papers have announced staff or pay cuts in New York, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Boston in the past two days.

Copps, a Democrat, said the FCC’s rule didn’t meet “the needs of the industry, the economy or the public.” The rule generally bans combined ownership of a daily newspaper and nearby broadcast station, except in the largest markets.

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E.C. :)