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Sheila Owens
NAA VP of Strategic Communications
(571) 366-1089
Sheila.Owens@naa.org
June 02, 2003
NAA PRESIDENT AND CEO JOHN F. STURM COMMENTS ON FCC’S DECISION ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP
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Vienna, Va. – Newspaper Association of America President and CEO John F. Sturm issued the following statement today on the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to repeal or significantly relax the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban in many markets across the country.
“NAA applauds the Federal Communications Commission for its decision. While full repeal continues to be NAA’s ultimate goal, we believe the Commission, for the first time in more than 25 years, took a significant step today to loosen significantly the regulatory shackles that have prohibited a daily newspaper from owning a broadcast station in the same market.
“The relaxation of the rules will allow newspaper-owned broadcast stations to offer more and better local news and public service programming, as well as all-news formats to radio markets of all sizes. It will positively impact competition in local markets and provide healthy and diverse competition to large radio station owners. Local audiences will be the big winners.”
NAA is disappointed the Commission did not fully repeal the ban, Sturm said, and will continue to urge the FCC to fully repeal the ban in all markets, regardless of size. Over the last six years, NAA has filed evidence in numerous FCC proceedings in support of full repeal.
NAA is a nonprofit organization representing the $55 billion newspaper industry and more than 2,000 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada. Most NAA members are daily newspapers, accounting for 87 percent of the U.S. daily circulation. Headquartered in Tysons Corner (Vienna, Va.), the Association focuses on six key strategic priorities that affect the newspaper industry collectively: marketing, public policy, diversity, industry development, newspaper operations and readership. Information about NAA and the industry may also be found at the Association’s World Wide Web site on the Internet (www.naa.org).
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