GAO report: FCC lacks comprehensive data on minority-ownership of media

By Christine McConville
The Boston Herald
(December 18, 2007) On the eve of a controversial vote that critics say could limit the number of voices in local journalism, the federal Government Accountability Office is reporting that the number of women- and minority-owned broadcast outlets “appears to be limited.”

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, reported that the Federal Communications Commission doesn’t have comprehensive data on women- and minority-owned broadcast outlets.

But the GAO pointed to data from the nonprofit Free Press organization showing women and minorities own about 5 percent and 3 percent of full-power television stations, respectively.

Rep. Edward J Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, had asked the GAO to examine the current status of media ownership.

He is among many Legislators who fear that a push to loosen longstanding government restrictions on media ownership could stifle diverse voices in the media.

“There are few issues that the (FCC) will address that will have a more profound impact on our civic institutions than the media ownership proposals,” he said.

Today, FCC commissioners are scheduled to vote on a proposal to modify a ban on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership. Simply put, the ban prohibits one company from owning both a local newspaper and a local television station in the same community.

Proponents of easing the ban say news organizations would be able to provide better community journalism by sharing print and broadcast resources. But critics say that in an age of media conglomerates, the ban is necessary to maintain a range of news, opinion and information in community journalism.

Critics also say that the FCC did not provide the public with enough time to evaluate the impacts of the proposed changes.

Click here to read entire report from the GAO

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