FCC chief recommends easing some media ownership rules

— -- The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday proposed easing a 32-year-old ban on a single company owning a newspaper and TV or radio station in the same market but said he doesn't want to relax other media ownership limits.

The plan, which Kevin Martin called "modest," would chiefly affect only the 20 largest markets and smaller TV stations in those markets. It represents a scaling back of a sweeping relaxation of media ownership rules proposed four years ago by former chairman Michael Powell. That proposal was modified by Congress and struck down by a federal appeals court.

Martin says his plan would bolster newspapers, which are beset by sharp declines in circulation and ad revenue. Mergers would permit TV stations and newspapers to share news resources. Martin also says the ban is outmoded in an age of cable TV and the Web.

Under the plan, a merger that combines a big daily newspaper with a TV or radio station would be allowed in any of the USA's 20 largest markets if at least eight separately owned "major media voices" — including TV stations or major newspapers — remain after the deal. Also, cross-ownership deals could not involve any of the top four TV stations in a market.

Martin's proposal would permit a case-by-case consideration of newspaper-broadcast mergers that don't meet his criteria if, for example, one would rescue a failing newspaper or increase local news coverage.

Opponents of cross ownership argue it gives one company too much influence over what people see, hear and read.