On Tuesday, he made the proposal, which would soften the 32-year-old ban on cross-ownership of media holdings. However, Martin clarified that he would push for cross-media ownership in a single market in the top 20 markets. The move would certainly open the flood gates for media conglomerates to make more deals in media centers such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Not surprisingly, supporters of Martin's proposal include Sam Zell, who is on the verge of completing the buyout of Tribune Co., as well as Rupert Murdoch, the wily head of News Corp., who had the forethought of owning the New York Post and Fox Television stations in New York City.
Martin recently said he wants the agency to wrap up its examination of
media ownership and reach a decision by Dec. 18 on whether to loosen
limits on how many media outlets a company may own in a single market.
Full coverage will come later in The Daily Deal and on TheDeal.com. — Gerald Magpily
See Reuters article
See Dow Jones via CNNMoney article
See TheDeal.com article: Martin: Bring back cable cap
If Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin had his way, a rule change allowing
a company to own newspapers and a television or radio station in the same
market would happen immediately.
