Big broadcasters want to control more media outlets
In this day and age of corporate bigger is better mentality, its not
surprising to hear the big media outlets cry for freedom when it comes
to owning media outlets in a particular market. The case they make is
that the death of broadcast TV is near if they are not allowed to
expand the number of media outlets they own. The arguements are there,
but they really don't back them up.
From the article:
Gannett (which owns USA Today, among other things) points to the
"established and sizable benefits that can be achieved by more
efficient combinations of resources in the media sector," while Fox
says it is "beyond question that regulatory intervention is no longer
necessary to ensure diversity and localism." CBS puts it most strongly
what it says that failing to give broadcasters the "fundamental freedom
to compete" means that "we put at risk the rich American tradition of
free, over-the-air broadcasting." That's right—CBS is saying that not
allowing massive conglomerates to own even more pieces of the media
could kill off free television.