Strict Scrutiny

Abstract

The current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) review of media ownership rules is likely to be influenced by FCC Chairman Michael Powell’s deregulatory, market-oriented bias. Among the rules under review are those prohibiting newspaper-broadcast and broadcast-cable cross-ownership and those placing a ceiling on the number of cable systems or broadcast outlets that any one company can own—all of which have come under attack by industry lobbyists asserting corporate “First Amendment” rights. The likely loss of these public-interest protections will have a profound effect, not only on the public’s access to a wide range of antagonistic voices in the traditional media, but also on the evolution of the Internet, which is already reflecting many of the ownership-consolidation patterns of the mass media. The FCC has thus far failed to examine the impact of its media policies on journalism in general and on civic discourse in particular, a failure that is unlikely to be covered by the mainstream press itself, beholden as that institution has become to its corporate owners. It is now time for a much-needed public inquiry, during this critical period of transition, into how the media are structured and how the public is served.