Senators Monitoring FCC on New Media Ownership Rules

As the Federal Communications Commission gears up to rewrite the media ownership rules, a bipartisan group of Senators - key members of the Senate Commerce Committee - on March 16 sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin asking for a comprehensive and public process.

"These Senators are sending a strong signal to the FCC that they will be watching the agency as it tries, once again, to craft new media ownership rules," said Common Cause President Chellie Pingree. "Their bipartisan letter demonstrates that the Senate continues to be concerned about the impact of media consolidation on our democracy. If only a few companies own all our media outlets, it will be difficult for average Americans to access the diverse viewpoints and information that we need to govern ourselves."

The only reason for their concern is because 3 million people raised hell about it the last time. Hopefully lots will be watching this time too, and can make a real difference. If it were up to me, no company would be allowed to own more than one media outlet per market. Period.