Dorgan Rips Cross-Ownership Vote … Again
Senator Pledges to Introduce ‘Resolution of Disapproval’
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/19/2007 9:08:00 AM MT
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) took to the Senate floor Wednesday to harshly criticize the Federal Communications Commission's Dec. 18 vote to loosen newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules.
He called the Republican majority out by name and pledged to introduce a "resolution of disapproval" that he said would pass.
The resolution would invalidate the FCC's rule change after it officially takes effect -- one of several possible legislative attacks on the rule change proposed by Democrats critical of consolidation.
Dorgan talked of the "unbelievable arrogance" of the FCC majority to loosen the ban after the Senate Commerce Committee passed a bill trying to block the vote and 25 senators wrote FCC chairman Kevin Martin warning him to delay the vote.
Dorgan decried voice-tracking, where radio stations broadcast remotely to a market but still deliver local information like weather or traffic.
To make his point, he put up a series of posters of major media companies and their holdings, with lines going from a central logo to owned businesses in TV, radio, print, production and online. He started with News Corp. and went through Disney, Time Warner, Viacom, CBS and General Electric, pointing to their assets to make his point that the vaunted diversity of voices and competition was "more voices, same ventriloquist."
Dorgan said the FCC, "with strings to the White House," is pushing more concentration and "short-circuiting" the comment process, when "that is the last thing in the world we need."
Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) took to the floor to second Dorgan, saying that the "verticalization" of ownership can affect people's access to information and their ability to make reasoned judgments. He said he would work with Dorgan on the issue.
Dorgan divided his floor time between two targets -- the FCC and predatory subprime lenders.
-
Chairman Martin is a sellout puppet of bush&cheney he has sold his soul to the devil! How...
mary lassila - 2007-22-12 08:43:00 -
Chairman Martin is a sellout puppet of bush&cheney he has sold his soul to the devil! How...
mary lassila - 2007-22-12 08:43:00
