FCC, on 3-2 vote, OKs media ownership rule

December 19, 2007 Federal regulators Tuesday brushed aside the concerns of lawmakers and decided to ease the reins on media companies seeking to own newspaper and broadcast properties in the same market in the nation's 20 biggest markets. FCC chairman Kevin Martin said the 3-2 party-line vote makes it easier for newspapers and television stations to compete with new-media outlets like the Internet that weren't envisioned when the rule was written 32 years ago. Back then, cable was a nascent service, satellite television did not exist, and there was no Internet.

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