[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 66 (Thursday, April 24, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S3389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       MEDIA MARKET CONCENTRATION

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I wish to mention, this morning out of the 
Senate Commerce Committee, thanks to Senator Inouye's and Senator 
Stevens' support of my legislation, we passed legislation that will 
veto a rule that was passed by the Federal Communications Commission 
that allows for more consolidation in America's media.
  The Federal Communications Commission decided they want more 
concentration in the media, despite the fact that most of what 
Americans hear, see, and read every single day is directed by about 
five or six major corporations in America. They think we need more 
concentration. So they passed a rule that says it is going to be OK to 
allow newspapers to buy television stations in the same city.
  We have had a prohibition against that action for a while. It is 
called cross-ownership. They did their rule. The Chairman of the 
Federal Communications Commission was very anxious to get this rule 
done and serve whatever master he was serving. They did their rule, but 
today we passed a veto resolution out of the Commerce Committee, a 
disapproval of the rule by the Federal Communications Commission that 
would allow greater concentration in the media.
  The last thing we need is more concentration in the media. We have 
all these supporters that come to the Senate floor who say: What are 
you talking about? We have all these new outlets. Go to the Internet. 
See how many sites there are. Go to cable television. See how many 
channels there are. I say: Yes, a lot of new choices but from the same 
ventriloquist, the same source.
  One guy testified before the Commerce Committee and said, for 
example, on cable television in my office, 48 channels are on basic 
tier and 42 of those channels belong to the same five or six major 
companies. That bill will come to the floor of the Senate because it is 
a privileged piece of legislation. My resolution of disapproval, passed 
by the Commerce Committee today, will come to the Senate as a 
privileged resolution. It will be on the calendar now. I am going to 
consult with Senator Reid, and I will visit with the minority, and find 
a time to bring it up and have a vote to disapprove the rule that was 
enacted by the Federal Communications Commission, which, in my 
judgment, stands logic on its head.

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