September 24, 2006
By Heidi Holden, Palm Beach Post

I was appalled to read that former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell attempted to bury a study that found media consolidation to be harmful to local news reporting ("Lawyer: FCC ordered media study destroyed," Sept. 15).

The FCC can't simply hide data from the public and push through new rules that unleash further consolidation of local news outlets. Localism and diversity are the cornerstones of a democratic media system; we cannot afford to compromise them in any way.

The FCC should allow no relaxation or elimination of the public-interest limits on media ownership without first weighing all of the evidence and hearing out widespread public concern about the problems of consolidation.

Limits on media consolidation have been a bulwark against the concentration of economic power in the marketplace of ideas — a critical part of balancing the media's public-service mission with their profit motive. Democracy requires the free flow of local information from a broad range of voices.

Media consolidation already has led to the homogenization of content in radio and television. Allowing further concentration of local media markets only will worsen the problems we already have.

We need to ensure that our lawmakers know this type of behavior is not wanted, and we need to find ways to expand the ownership of news outlets.