Hill pot shots hit FCC 'on-ramp'

December 06, 2007 FCC chairman Kevin Martin defended his plan to ease the federal bar against common ownership of a newspaper and a TV station in a single market on Tuesday against congressional Democrats who accused him of moving too far too fast, and Republicans who think he isn't moving far enough with enough dispatch. Martin and the four other commissioners were called before the House Commerce Committee's telecommunications panel to discuss the chairman's plan to make it easier in the top 20 markets for a single company to enjoy joint ownership . The plan, which is expected to be voted on during the commission's Dec. 18 meeting, has met with controversy largely from Democrats who fear that it will concentrate too much media power in too few hands.

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