[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 24, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H9412]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   OPPOSING FCC MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, 
Congressman Jay Inslee, for his work on opposing the FCC's media 
ownership rules and for arranging time to bring this issue to the House 
floor this evening.
  I was proud to cosponsor his resolution, H.J. Res. 79, a resolution 
to disapprove of the Federal Communications Commission's media 
ownership rules.
  The FCC has neglected to deal with the crisis in minority ownership. 
Only 44 of the more than 1,200 TV stations are owned by people of 
color. The situation is particularly dire for the African American 
community. The number of African American owners has dropped 60 percent 
from 2006 to 2007. There are only eight TV stations in this country 
owned by African Americans.
  Unfortunately, the FCC's vote last December to lift the newspaper 
broadcast cross-ownership rules would take direct aim at minority 
broadcast owners. According to the FCC, the new rule allows a newspaper 
to buy a television station in our Nation's largest markets if the 
outlet is ranked outside the top four.
  There are at least two problems with the rule: One, it is not what it 
appears to be. The new rule contains loopholes that will allow for 
greater consolidation in potentially every market in this country. 
Second, nearly half of all minority-owned stations operate in the top 
20 markets and all are ranked outside the top four. This would make 
them a target for acquisition and make it harder for people of color to 
purchase stations in larger markets. This is unacceptable.
  The FCC seems not to care about the state of minority ownership. In 
fact, the FCC has no idea how many stations are actually owned by 
people of color because the Commission has failed to keep track of 
their own data. The only reason I'm able to cite statistics on minority 
ownership is due to the diligent work of a nonprofit group to conduct 
an accurate census and do the work the FCC should have conducted 
itself.
  Last year, the FCC conducted several ownership studies prior to its 
December vote but failed to count 69 percent of minority-owned TV 
stations and 75 percent of female-owned stations. The failure of the 
FCC to properly address the crisis in minority ownership is stunning, 
since the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 2004 chastised the FCC 
for its failure to address the issue of minority ownership the last 
time it attempted to allow for further media consolidation.
  The lack of minority ownership and minority representation has real 
consequences for our society. It is no wonder many feel the media 
continues to marginalize people of color, causing our communities great 
harm.
  There has been too much incompetency from independent regulatory 
agencies during the 8 years of the Bush administration. This lack of 
accountability has to stop, and I'm so proud of the millions of 
Americans who have spoken out through the years and have said ``no'' to 
media consolidation. This is especially true in the 35th Congressional 
District, where my constituents have fought so hard to block the deal 
between KTLA and the Los Angeles Times newspaper. On behalf of my 
constituents, I filed a brief in the continuing litigation to oppose 
the merger of these two giants that would have the effect of silencing 
the voices of many of my constituents.
  It is going to be because of the many individual voices for free 
speech and diversity that we are going to continue to hold the FCC 
accountable for serving the public interest needs of the American 
people.
  I promise I will continue to fight on and to fight for a media system 
that strengthens our democracy instead of weakening it.

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