Publishers challenge common ownership bars; print media seeks end to spin-off frenzy. (FCC prohibition on common ownership of newspapers and broadcast outlets in same market)

Broadcasting & Cable, June, 1997 by McConnell, Chris

Print media seeks end to spin-off frenzy

Gannett has sold a newspaper in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and a TV station in Cincinnati. Media General has unloaded its CBS affiliate in Richmond, Va. In Miami, Tribune is fighting an FCC order to sell either a newspaper or a TV station.

The publishers want the FCC to stop the spin-off frenzy. In recent weeks, they have stepped up their case at the FCC and in Congress to eliminate the rule barring common ownership of newspapers and broadcast properties. "The notion that the newspaper is the dominant medium has been pretty watered down," says Tribune lobbyist Shaun Sheehan. On Oct. 31, Sheehan's company will take aim at the rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. Tribune hopes to convince the court it...

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