FCC seeks comments on Research Studies on Media Ownership.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the release of ten research studies on media ownership intended to inform the Commission’s comprehensive review of its broadcast ownership policies undertaken in its rulemaking proceeding in MB Docket No. 06-121 involving the issues raised by the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Prometheus v. FCC and its quadrennial review of its broadcast ownership rules and certain other rules. The studies, which were conducted by outside researchers and by Commission staff, examine a range of issues that impact diversity, competition, and localism, three important policy goals of those rules. The Commission intends to use the data collected in the studies, as well as the comments, to inform its decisions in the ownership proceeding.

The following is a listing of the media ownership studies released today, and their respective authors and professional affiliations:

Study 1: How People Get News and Information

This study surveys consumers about their use of media. It identifies consumers’ primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of news and information and the frequency with which consumers access these sources.

Author: Nielsen Media Research, Inc.

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A2.pdf>

Study 2: Ownership Structure and Robustness of Media

This study describes the ownership structure and robustness of current media, including broadcast television, cable television, satellite television, broadcast radio, satellite radio, newspapers, and the Internet. The information gathered concerning the current media marketplace is compared to the state of the media marketplace when the Commission last reviewed its ownership rules in the years 2002-2003.

Authors: Kiran Duwadi, Scott Roberts, and Andrew Wise, FCC; C. Anthony Bush, FCC (Technical Appendix)

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A3.pdf>

Study 3: Television Station Ownership Structure and the Quantity and Quality of TV Programming

This study analyzes the effect of ownership structure and robustness (as described in Study 2) on various measures of the quantity and the quality of different types of TV programming, including local news and public affairs, minority programming, children’s programming, family programming, religious programming, and violent and indecent content.

Author: Gregory S. Crawford, Department of Economics, University of Arizona

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A4.pdf>

Study 4: News Operations

This study, which is divided into four sections, collects data on the size and scope of the news operations of radio and television stations and newspapers. It also analyzes the relationship between the nature of the news operations and market characteristics, including ownership structure and robustness.

Authors: Daniel Shiman, FCC (Section I); Kenneth Lynch, FCC (Section II); Craig Stroup, FCC (Section III); Pedro Almoguera, FCC (Section IV)

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A5.pdf>

Study 5: Station Ownership and Programming in Radio

This study uses station-level data to examine how ownership structure affects the programming and audience of radio stations.

Author: Tasneem Chipty, CRA International, Inc.

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A6.pdf>

Study 6: The Effects of Cross-Ownership on the Local Content and Political Slant of Local Television News

This study examines the effect of newspaper cross-ownership on television news coverage using matched pairs of cross-owned and non-cross-owned television stations.

Author: Jeffrey Milyo, Center for Applied Economics, University of Kansas, School of Business; Department of Economics and Truman School of Public Affairs, University of Missouri

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A7.pdf>

Study 7: Minority and Female Ownership in Media Enterprises

This study examines levels of minority ownership of media companies and barriers to entry.

Authors: Arie Beresteanu and Paul B. Ellickson, Duke University

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A8.pdf>

Study 8: The Impact of the FCC’s TV Duopoly Rule Relaxation on Minority and Women Owned Broadcast Stations 1999-2006

This study examines levels of minority ownership of media companies and barriers to entry.

Author: Allen S. Hammond, IV, Santa Clara University (The Commission contracted with Allen Hammond, Barbara O’Connor, and Tracy Westen to undertake this study.)

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A9.pdf>

Study 9: Vertical Integration and the Market for Broadcast and Cable Television Programming

This study examines levels of vertical integration in the media industry.

Author: Austan Goolsbee, University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business; American Bar Foundation; and National Bureau of Economic Research

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A10.pdf>

Study 10: Review of the Radio Industry, 2007

This study updates a study done during our last review of the media ownership rules. That study was titled “Radio Industry Review 2002: Trends in Ownership, Format, and Finance.”

Author: George Williams, FCC

CLICK on link to download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-3470A11.pdf>

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