TV reveals greed? Let’s go to the replay

In the course of their busy days, fraught with talk of mergers, acquisitions and deal-making, today’s broadcasting titans somehow overlooked the example of poor Joe Pisarcik.

For those who might have forgotten, Pisarcik was the New York Giant quarterback whose botched handoff in the waning moments of a 1978 game snatched defeat from the jaws of certain victory, as a Philadelphia player scooped up the fumble and scored. Since that gaffe, teams have simply knelt with the ball to run out the clock.

Apparently, the people running the major broadcasters don’t devote much time to football history. Because through a combination of greed and arrogance, they have managed to cast doubt over their campaign to relax key federal rules governing media ownership -- a game they at one point had locked up.

All the big conglomerates needed to do was exercise a modicum of self-control. But driven by the headlong pursuit of profits, the industry roused Congress, making it more difficult for the Federal Communications Commission -- which this week concluded soliciting public comment -- to dramatically ease existing constraints.

Those seeking concessions in television can lay much of the blame on what has happened to radio since regulation of that medium was reduced in 1996. Last week, the Senate Commerce Committee grilled executives at Clear Channel Communications, a company whose holdings have expanded twelvefold in that time -- to a staggering 1,200 radio stations and a quarter of the industry’s U.S. ad revenue.

Such massive consolidation, and the diminution of local programming in both radio and TV, is “very compelling,” said Michael R. Gardner, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who represents a varied group -- including the Directors Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, ad agency MediaCom and several producers -- calling itself the Coalition for Program Diversity. “It’s easily discernible to people who glaze over when you talk about the creative process. And it resonates with both Republicans and Democrats.”

The TV behemoths have also left their own trail for anyone tracking the issue to follow. Consider:

* A study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs found the volume of last year’s midterm election coverage within broadcast news dropped more than 70% versus 1994. As for the depth of reporting, a separate analysis indicated the average candidate sound bite ran just 9.5 seconds -- of which elected officials were no doubt more keenly aware than their constituents.

* Most media outlets have largely ignored media ownership itself. A recent public hearing in New York attracted only one TV crew, from Bill Moyers’ PBS program. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps has expressed skepticism that news operations will tackle the subject, stating that “the very institutions we rely on as a forum for this debate are ... most affected by its outcome.”

* Networks loaded up last year on programs they produce and own, to the exclusion of independent suppliers. At ABC, 26 of the network’s 30 new-series candidates came from the network’s parent company, Disney.

Data assembled by the Program Diversity coalition shows that the number of independent prime-time suppliers to the major networks fell sharply during the last decade. Networks now provide three-quarters of their own programming, rendering the term “independent TV producer” almost oxymoronic.

* So-called reality programs continue to proliferate. Although there is clearly an audience for such fare, the most outlandish concepts -- viewed disdainfully even by many in Hollywood -- reinforce the perception of an industry steadfastly driven by profits, with minimal regard to the consequences.

* ABC News and CNN are still discussing a possible merger, though little talk has focused on whether better coverage would result, only that it would let the two operations significantly lower their costs.

* TV stations have also raced forward with money-saving “duopoly” arrangements. By operating two stations in the same city, Viacom can shuffle reporters between KCBS and KCAL, with one management team presiding over both. On Saturday, Fox News Channel’s coverage of the space shuttle tragedy could be seen simultaneously on the cable news network, KTTV and KCOP, since all three are owned by News Corp.

* Companies rushed to make deals that presumed the guidelines would be relaxed or eliminated. Both Viacom and Fox already exceed the cap limiting a company’s TV station ownership to no more than 35% of U.S. homes, just as Tribune Co. acquired the Los Angeles Times anticipating that the rule against owning a TV station (KTLA locally) and newspaper in the same city would be lifted.

Individually, none of these developments might have awakened Washington or the public. Taken together, however, they have helped focus attention on what’s at stake.

“Had they disciplined themselves, the independent producer community would not have had the record they do of abusive practices,” Gardner said. In its FCC filing, the coalition contends the networks have become “fixated on profits to the exclusion of the commission’s overarching goals of diversity, competition and localism.”

The major media players respond that today’s environment has become so competitive that the rules are passe, and that they must be allowed greater latitude in order to survive.

Unfortunately, their credibility hasn’t benefited from recent events. Jonathan Rintels -- executive director of the Center for the Creative Community, a relatively new lobbying group for writers, performers and producers -- pointed out that corporate scandals surrounding Enron, WorldCom and Adelphia, as well as AOL Time Warner’s plummeting stock price, don’t bolster the case that, left to their own devices, big corporations will ultimately act in the public interest and make money for their stockholders.

Given how big a handful of companies have already grown, it will be near-impossible to squeeze the genie back into the bottle, as these coalitions would like. Still, slowing further growth at least appears plausible, which marks a shift from how the situation looked even a few months ago.

“They never dreamed there was going to be this kind of push back or groundswell,” said Rintels. “I don’t know what our chances are for stopping the train, but they seem better than they were a while ago.”

The media titans, meanwhile, might need to amend their playbooks. Instead of trying to run up the score when they’re ahead late in the game, next time, just take a knee.

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Brian Lowry’s column appears Wednesdays. He can be reached at brian.lowry@latimes.com.