Martin: FCC will vote
By Leah McBride Mensching, Monday 17 December 2007 at 23:38 :: Media Ownership :: #987 :: rss
U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is on track to preside over a long-awaited final vote by the FCC on cross-media ownership rules Tuesday, as long as U.S. lawmakers do not stop him at the last minute.
Martin has been waiting for nearly a year for the final vote on the new media ownership rule that, if passed, would eliminate a ban that does not allow a broadcaster to own a newspaper in the same city in the 20 largest markets in the United States, with some exceptions.
Last week, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee threatened Martin with congressional action that would delay the vote, as the new rule faces opposition from both Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate.
Martin seems unfazed, despite being questioned before the committee, having a bill written to delay the vote and receiving a letter from Rep. Hohn Dingell, chairman of the House Commerce Committee, stating that his committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation will launch an investigation into the FCC's recent actions.
“I am not convinced that we would ever reach a consensus on media ownership. I think it's just too politically divisive,” Martin told Congress last week, according to MediaPost.
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