American values at risk as FCC rules less news is good news

Credit: By Email From John Davidson

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allegedly ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would harm local TV news coverage, a former lawyer at the agency says.

The report, written in 2004, surfaced during the Senate confirmation hearing for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat-California) received a copy of the report indirectly from a disgruntled worker within the FCC.
When considering whether to loosen rules on media ownership, the agency is currently required to examine the impact on localism, competition and diversity; the FCC generally defines localism as the level of responsiveness a station shows towards the needs of its community. Co-author of the leaked report Peter Alexander still works at the FCC.

At the web page www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4187090.html
the Houston Chronicle carries a story by John Dunbar of the Associated Press.