[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 22786-22787]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       FCC MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today in support of Senator 
Dorgan's effort to overturn the Federal Communication Commission's 
media ownership rules. I commend Senator Dorgan on his resolve to work 
with his colleagues in a bipartisan manner to bring forward a 
commonsense solution to this pressing issue.
  Every 2 years the FCC is required to review its media ownership 
rules. This most recent decision to roll back media ownership 
limitations was the most sweeping in a generation. Was it in response 
to the American people asking for this reform? No, in fact over 2 
million Americans contacted the FCC opposing the rule changes. In my 
office, I received over 1,000 letters from Montanans opposing the 
decision. It seems that the FCC turned a deaf ear to the will of the 
American public. I hear them loud and clear.
  I support Senator Dorgan's effort for three basic reasons: diversity, 
localism, and economics. First, if America is to have a vibrant 
democracy, one where our citizens are free to express their views and 
have equal accessibility to the news, we as policymakers must protect 
that right. The FCC's decision allows large corporations that already 
have considerable clout over what we hear and see to further 
consolidate. The decision allows TV networks to own more stations 
reaching more Americans. Even worse, these same stations could own the 
local newspaper in the same market.
  We as Americans must have access to diverse news and information. The 
FCC's decision runs contrary to this axiom and would allow a few large 
television stations to reach nearly one-half of the viewing public. If 
the UHF discount is factored, nearly 90 percent of our Nation's 
households could be covered by one entity. Diversity is jeopardized 
when one company has this much leverage over what we see and hear.
  Senator Dorgan has pointed out that localism is being lost to the 
bottom line. I cannot agree more. A generation ago, Americans sat 
around the radio and listened to local news. We huddled around the TV 
to watch our local news anchor give us the latest information about our 
communities. Today, news and information is being portrayed as local, 
when, in reality, it is being broadcast to us from hundreds or even 
thousands of miles away. Instead of broadcasting news about our 
communities from our communities, media companies are broadcasting 
about our communities even though they are nowhere near us. This is not 
localism and we should not stand idle to this emerging trend.
  This decision has the potential to cause job loss in Montana. In 
Montana we have many ``mom-and-pop'' newspapers and television 
stations. Typically, these companies serve the rural areas of our State 
and do a tremendous job reporting about local activities and news. And 
they are often owned and operated by local citizens living in the 
communities they serve. And very often they are run on a very tight 
budget. The FCC's ruling jeopardizes our local stations and newspapers 
because these new larger companies will be able to squeeze these 
companies out of the market through advertising revenues with sheer 
economic clout. With additional leverage over the media landscape, 
these small, rural companies will find it harder and harder to compete 
and keep their doors open. As Montana's senior Senator, I will fight to 
protect our small TV and newspaper owners.
  While I disagree with a majority of the FCC's decision, I would like 
to point out for small market broadcasters to survive, they may need 
the chance to utilize duopolies and other means to stay in business. 
And while I am concerned about the broad sweeping changes the FCC made, 
I remain cognizant of the fact that small market broadcasters may 
potentially need to utilize the very changes we may revoke today, and I 
will work with my colleagues to find market relief for these small 
broadcasters when warranted.
  Over the next several months we will continue to argue the merits of 
this issue. However, I will only support any legislation that protects 
diversity, localism, and Montana's small businesses.

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