Shelving of Study by FCC Is Alleged
From the Associated Press
Sen. Barbara Boxer made public a second Federal Communications Commission study on media ownership that she says was shelved by agency officials.
The FCC Media Bureau report analyzes the effect of deregulation in the radio industry. The report states that from March 1996 through March 2003, the number of commercial radio stations on the air rose 5.9% while the number of station owners fell 35%.
Last week, Boxer, a California Democrat, released a draft of an FCC study showing that media consolidation leads to less local TV news coverage. A lawyer with the FCC said FCC managers ordered the destruction of that report, a charge officials denied.
In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin, Boxer asked for an investigation of the studies.