Radio Ink - Radio's Premier Management & Marketing Magazine

November 3, 2009: NAB EVP/General Counsel Jane Mago was one of the panelists in today's FCC media ownership workshop, one of a series of discussions kicking off the 2010 quadrennial ownership-rules review.

Mago began her remarks with three key points she said the FCC should keep in mind, first saying the public interest "is best served by permitting broadcasters to compete effectively in the digital multichannel marketplace." She also said the "analytical framework" the FCC is seeking can be found in the Communications Act and in the case law interpreting it; Mago said that, under that framework, "the FCC must take current competitive conditions into account as it reviews the broadcast ownership rules."

Third, Mago said, "the commission would be well served if it bases any judgment of these rules on real evidence, not unsupported opinion. To that end, it is important to have current, realistic data that fully accounts for the impact that new media sources have on broadcast stations and the audiences they serve."

Pointing to broadcasters' service to the community, she said, "Despite what some have suggested, local broadcasters continue to serve their listeners and viewers with a wide variety of entertainment, news, public affairs programming, and vital emergency information. Broadcasters have a demonstrated record of unparalleled service to their local audiences."

But, she said, "I don't think it will surprise anyone to hear me say that to maintain their ability to provide quality local service, broadcasters believe that the FCC's rules must permit reasonable combinations of station ownership so that broadcasters can compete effectively."

Mago also emphasized that broadcasters are not calling for an end to ownership regulation, but said the FCC must revise the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban and "recognize the impact multichannel providers have had on the competitive position of local television stations, as articulated by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals."

She also said, "Let me also clearly oppose any suggestion that restrictions on broadcast ownership should remain unchanged or even increased. To support such views, one must believe that the media marketplace has not changed over the past several decades or that the media marketplace is less competitive and diverse than before the development of digital technology, numerous multichannel video and audio services, and the Internet. Such a position is clearly untenable."

Also on the panel, moderated by FCC Media Bureau Chief William Lake, were Heart Television President/CEO David Barrett, National Hispanic Media Coalition Policy Counsel Jessica Gonzalez, Media General VP/General Counsel George Mahoney, and NABOB Exec. Director/General Counsel Jim Winston.