It is easy to understand why the Federal Communications Commission approved new rules that would relax limitations on media ownership. FCC Chairman Michael Powell has proved to be a malleable regulator and only too happy to help the broadcast giants consolidate their holdings. It is also clear why a bipartisan majority in the Senate rebuked Powell by voting to repeal those new rules. The Senate action reflects public opinion, which is that the airwaves shouldn't end up in the hands of a few corporations.
The real mystery in this dispute is why President Bush would waste his precious political capital by threatening to veto any bill that reverses the FCC decision. With the president standing in the way, Republican House leaders refused to allow their members to vote on the matter, even though a House majority agrees that the FCC erred. The issue is far from resolved, however, and the president could find himself in conflict not only with Democrats, but also conservative members of his own party.
Most Americans get their news from television, so the FCC should be helping to preserve a diversity of voices. Instead, the new rules would allow national broadcast companies to buy up more local TV stations, a process Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D, calls "galloping concentration" of media ownership. Just four companies - Viacom (CBS), Disney (ABC), News Corp. (Fox) and General Electric (NBC) - already dominate entertainment and news content and would be able to buy out more of their competitors. In addition, any one company would be allowed to own both a newspaper and broadcast outlet in the same city, and up to eight radio stations and three TV stations in the largest markets. A federal court has put those measures on hold temporarily in a lawsuit brought by a small group of radio station owners.
Meanwhile, the fight isn't over in Congress. The next effort to repeal the FCC rules on station ownership comes as an amendment to an important appropriations bill. The House has already passed the bill, and if the Senate goes along, President Bush could find himself in a tough spot. Should he delay important spending legislation to defend an unpopular media rule that favors a few large corporations?
There is no clear advantage for the president to test his veto power on this one.
