| By Bob Weaver
This falls under the "bigger can do it better" department.
Media companies are eagerly awaiting the loosening of rules on how many newspapers and broadcast stations they can
own.
The FCC is expected to change the rules, but critics feel large media corporations owning most if not all the outlets in some
markets could be harmful to the public.
While media moguls make a compelling case regarding "ownership" of markets, opponents have been trying to remind
decision makers the airways belong to the American public. Critics fear the result will be fewer public voices.
Have you ever asked yourself why ALL the TV news channels essentially deliver the same stories on the same day, if they have independent organizations collecting the news.
The media giants contend they have the money to provide better programming.
The changes are expected to pass 3 to 2 in a Federal Communications Commission vote tomorrow.
The vote would end a 28-year-old ban on ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations in the same market.
A new FCC decision would also allow outlet companies to build their portfolio of TV stations up to a new limit of 45
percent of the total US market. The limit now is 35 percent.
William Dean Singleton, president of Denver-based Media-News Group and owner of the Charleston Daily Mail, is considering
expanding into TV.
The FCC has indicated the new rules will allow cross-ownership. Restrictions would still apply in some small markets
where there is only one paper and a few broadcast stations.
A West Virginia corporation has been buying up TV and newspaper outlets in the state, they say to "help portray the state in
a more positive image." The company is partially owned by John Rasse, former Republican candidate for governor. His
company has reportedly been making offers to buy one or more of the Charleston newspapers, the Gazette and
Daily-Mail.
The Charleston newspapers say while it is important to report positive news, a primary function of a good newspaper is to
report news about events and decisions that affects the lives of citizens.
If ownership, censorship or other forms of control are not extended to cover internet publishing, those news sources may
well become primary sources for information.
The local newspaper, radio or TV station, with a long history of serving the public, could become a thing of the past.
Media corporations tend to format programming, while they limit funding for local programming and development.
| 
