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News Release — Byron Dorgan, Senator for North Dakota

DORGAN'S RESOLUTION TO BLOCK FCC'S MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES APPROVED BY SENATE

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Senator Byron Dorgan’s (D-ND) “Resolution of Disapproval” to stop the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from implementing rules that would result in more media concentration and fewer choices for consumers passed the Senate tonight.

Dorgan, who has criticized the new FCC rules, saying they would not only allow consolidation in the biggest markets, but also “open a gaping loophole for more mergers of newspapers and television stations across the country,” cheered the action taken by the Senate. “We already have too much concentration in the media,” Dorgan said. “The FCC rules give the green light to even more concentration.”

“The FCC is supposed to be a referee for the media industry, but instead they’ve been cheerleaders in favor of more consolidation,” said Dorgan. “Diverse, independent and local media sources are essential to ensuring that the public has access to a variety of information.”

 Following the FCC action on December 18, 2007, to allow newspapers to buy television stations in the top 20 markets and beyond, Dorgan introduced a Resolution of Disapproval to prevent this consolidation.

“The FCC must not be allowed to relax its media cross-ownership rules,” said Dorgan. “More consolidation means fewer choices for consumers, and that is not in the public’s best interest. There has been massive public outcry to these new rules, and they must be overturned.”

This is not the first time Senator Dorgan has fought efforts to give more properties to the big media owners. When the FCC voted to allow more consolidation in 2003, Senator Dorgan and Senator Trent Lott passed a similar Resolution of Disapproval in the Senate to overturn the rule.

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