Quashed Report on TV News Finally Makes News

Printer-friendly versionSend by email

A lawyer formerly with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said agency officials ordered "every last piece" destroyed of a report linking greater concentration of media ownership to reduced news coverage. "The report, written in 2004, came to light during the Senate confirmation hearing for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin," reports John Dunbar. The report's findings include that "local ownership of television stations adds almost five and one-half minutes of total news to broadcasts and more than three minutes of 'on-location' news. The conclusion is at odds with FCC arguments made when it voted in 2003 to increase the number of television stations a company could own in a single market." Current FCC chair Martin and former chair Michael Powell say they knew nothing of the report. Senator Barbara Boxer, who publicly revealed the report, has asked Martin to investigate what happened and to determine if the report was "shelved because the outcome was not to the liking of some of the commissioners and/or any outside powerful interests," reports TV Week.