Columns::Making waves: Grady dean discusses media ownership requirements

since 12/15/98

Columns::October 20, 2003

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Making waves
Grady dean discusses media ownership requirements

By Beth Roberts
beth@uga.edu

John Soloski, dean of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, is an expert in media economics,

telecommunication policy and media law. He spoke to Columns about the broad issue of media consolidation, following the Federal Communications Commission’s attempt, so far rejected by Congress, to ease ownership requirements.

Columns: Perhaps we should begin with a review of FCC intentions.

Soloski: The FCC was trying to help newspaper companies, in particular, by allowing them to own television stations in the markets in which they publish newspapers. Of course, it would also mean the reverse--a television station could purchase a newspaper--but it’s hard to envision that. That’s the primary change the FCC proposed.
The other change was to allow an increase in ownership of television stations, to reach a larger percentage of the population--from 35 to 45 percent of the total television market. For example, GE, which owns NBC, doesn’t own a station in every market--it only owns a certain percentage, up to the percentage the FCC permits.

Columns: This is not the first time the FCC has revised ownership rules, right?

Soloski: This has been going on a long time. Because of a variety of issues, and some strong lobbying, it was clear quite early on that the FCC would relax its ownership rules, particularly cross-ownership.
The cross-ownership rule prevents television stations and newspapers from being owned by the same company in the same city. But look at Atlanta, where Cox Enterprises owns the newspaper and WSB-TV and WSB radio. Why is that allowed? When the FCC first adopted cross-ownership regulations, it grandfathered in almost all existing cross-ownerships. A few had to be dissolved, in small towns where

John Soloski

one owner controlled everything. But in larger markets existing cross-ownerships--usually by family-owned companies--could continue.

Columns: But the FCC wasn’t proposing to change that.

Soloski: No. The proposed changes in cross-ownership would not affect existing ownership in Atlanta. But under current rules Cox is prohibited from buying another television station in Atlanta, and from going into another market in which it had a newspaper and purchasing a television station there. The FCC wanted to change those rules.

Columns: And newspaper owners were lobbying for such a change?

Soloski: There’s keen interest in the newspaper industry for this. The goal is convergence--when you own more than one outlet in a market, you can more efficiently use your resources. For example, a reporter might conceivably not work for WSB but for the company, reporting for WSB, the AJC and the radio station.
Of course, from a management point of view, there are other kinds of efficiencies possible. For example, you wouldn’t necessarily have separate advertising staffs--you could sell advertising as a package. In Arizona, for example, where Gannett owns the Arizona Republic and one of the major television stations, plus a smaller newspaper, Gannett can now reach 96 percent of the population in the state. And that’s a very powerful vehicle for advertising.

Columns: So was the outcry over the proposed changes a result of concern about the economic issues or about owning opinion makers?

Soloski: I think it was a question of the principle--I believe that’s what Congress was concerned about.
WSB does not own channel 2. Channel 2--the frequency on which it broadcasts--is owned by you and me, by the American public. We license stations, and they are supposed to use that license to provide content that benefits the owner--us.
And that ties in with a major concern of Congress, the loss of local ownership. It’s most evident today in radio. You might assume that the radio station you listen to is local, but it might be coming in by satellite instead. It’s done with great sophistication--you might actually hear your local weather report, reinforcing the idea that it’s a local station, but it’s not.

Columns: Is that a result of consolidation, because of FCC changes?

Soloski: I think it caught the commission by surprise, when it first began lifting the ownership regulations a couple years ago. The industry that moved quickly wasn’t television but radio. Radio began a big consolidation move, because if you own one tiny radio station you might not be able to make money on it. But if you put 100 little stations together, you have so many efficiencies economically--programming, advertising sales--that you can be a major force. Radio, which was a relatively small player as far as total revenues are concerned, all of a sudden became a major player again, and the key was the ability to own more and more stations. The FCC encouraged that by raising the limits on ownership.
You don’t let somebody use your land without paying you a decent rent, but we are, in effect, almost giving our frequencies away. We have to ask: what are we getting in return? If we’re not getting revenue, then we ought to be getting something else. And one of those things is local programming. There are issues that are unique to Atlanta--that wouldn’t be of interest to people in L.A.--and those issues should be addressed by broadcasters. People in L.A. aren’t going to be concerned with Atlanta’s traffic and congestion and air quality.
The promise of the marketplace of ideas is that the more voices there are, the more likely that reasonable men and women will ultimately identify the truth. So we have to encourage as many voices as possible, whether we like a particular voice or not. And anything that limits the number of voices is a threat to that idea.

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Columns is produced by the UGA News Service, a unit of UGA Public Affairs.
Beth Roberts: Columns editor, Juliett Dinkins: Columns managing editor,
Janet Beckley: Columns art director. Peter Frey: Columns photo editor

Questions or comments should be directed to columns@uga.edu