Senate Rejects Media Consolidation
www.truthout.org
Friday 16 May 2008
On Thursday night, the US Senate initiated the process of overturning an FCC ruling made in December to allow for greater media consolidation.
The joint resolution (S.J Res. 28) passed by an overwhelming margin in a voice vote on the Senate floor.
The resolution, originally sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), was cosponsored by Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-New York), Barack Obama
(D-Illinois), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and a long list of others.
"Today, the Senate stood up to Washington special interests by voting to reverse the FCC's disappointing media consolidation rules that I have
fought against," said presidential candidate Barack Obama. "It is essential that the FCC promotes the public interest and diversity in ownership."
Senator Dorgan's communications director Justin Kitsch noted to Truthout, "The next step is for the House to take up the resolution. Senator
Dorgan certainly hopes it will move quickly."
Congressman Jay Inslee (D-Washington) has introduced a measure similar to Dorgan's in the House.
The vote demonstrated a strong rebuke of the FCC's controversial rule, (FCC 07-216), which eliminated the 1975 ban on a company from owning both a
newspaper and broadcast outlet within a single market.
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