Panel to assess impact of next round of FCC media consolidation rules March 6

The impact of the Federal Communication Commission’s ongoing relaxation of rules on media consolidation, which already has resulted in the closing of many local TV and radio stations and the loss of thousands of journalists’ jobs, will be explored by panelists at a National Press Club Newsmaker news conference on Wednesday, March 6.

The timely discussion, scheduled for 10 p.m. in the Murrow Room, comes amid expectations that the FCC will launch another round of media consolidation rulemaking in the next few weeks.

Further rulemaking, critics fear, not only will cause still more communities to lose their their voices and access to vigorous, unbiased news reporting, but also will further erode diverse, objective reporting that an informed electorate needs to fairly understand government actions and act as responsible citizens and voters.

Panelists examining the issue will be: Steven Waldman, senior advisor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and former national editor for US News & World Report and national correspondent for Newsweek; Bob Edgar, a former U.S. congressman and president of Common Cause, a national nonpartisan citizens lobby; and filmmaker Kevin McKinney, whose film "Corporate FM" explores how FCC relaxing consolidation rules has caused one city to lose its communal voice.
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