Senate right to try to overturn FCC rules

Who wants to buy The Pitt News?

We’re not selling, though under the current Federal… Who wants to buy The Pitt News?

We’re not selling, though under the current Federal Communication Commission regulations, we could be bought out by either a television station or another newspaper.

But the U.S. Senate wants to help make us, and many others, less vulnerable.

On Sept. 16, the Senate voted to repeal the FCC’s June 2 rulings that allowed media companies to control a larger market sector – 45 percent, up from the pre-June 35 percent. The FCC’s regulations also allowed companies to have cross-ownership, letting newspaper companies buy television stations in a market, and vice versa.

To change the current regulations, the House of Representatives must vote, and President Bush must sign the new bill – although he’s already promised to veto. Overriding this veto would require bipartisan work to get the majority, forcing Republicans and Democrats to, gasp, agree on something. This has already started, as Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., sponsored the bill, which passed 55 to 40, showing a bipartisan vote in the Republican-led Senate.

While The Pitt News did have its eye on several TV stations – imagine all Simpsons and Wild America reruns, all the time – we commend the Senate’s decision to roll back the FCC to its previous rules.

Quality should triumph over quantity. The FCC’s June 2 regulations seemed to abide by the golden rule – whoever has the gold makes the rules, or in this case, reaches the audience.

As a two-newspaper town, Pittsburgh would be a prime target for media consolidation, which would let one newspaper or television station either buy their smaller competition or run them out of business.

Deregulating the media would mean that more information would come from fewer sources, making it harder to have a well-balanced market. Imagine if 45 percent of news came from Fox News or The Socialist Worker or us. Scary thought, isn’t it?

There would be fewer guarantees of fairness, fewer guarantees that all demographics are served and fewer guarantees that what people watch and read is the whole truth.

Moreover, college newspapers compete with other local newspapers, most with larger budgets and scope. The Pitt News and its ilk – small, independent newspapers with a limited audience – could be bought out.

Not that we’re selling, of course.