How Close Is Rupert Murdoch to Owning the L.A. Times and the Chicago Tribune?

AlterNet / By Alyssa Figueroa

How Close Is Rupert Murdoch to Owning the L.A. Times and the Chicago Tribune?
The FCC may weaken the exact rule needed to allow Murdoch this media ownership.

November 30, 2012 |


In October, the L.A. Times revealed that Murdoch had his eye on acquiring both the L.A. Times and the Chicago Tribune from the Tribune Co . As the Tribune Co. emerges from bankruptcy, Murdoch’s News Corp. executives held talks with the company’s debt holders about acquiring the major papers.

So what’s the Federal Communications Commission to do?

Apparently, propose an order that weakens the exact rule that would have stood in the way of Murdoch’s desired acquisition. For 30 years, the FCC’s Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-Ownership rule has prevented a single company from owning both a daily newspaper and a TV or radio station in the same city to ensure media diversity. And since Murdoch owned two Fox stations in both L.A. and Chicago, this rule would have prevented him from acquiring the cities’ major dailies.

But two weeks ago, FCC sources leaked that the chairman, Julius Genachowski, sent around an order that would weaken this rule. This would allow one company to own a major daily newspaper, two TV stations and up to eight radio stations in one city. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/media/how-close-rupert-murdoch-owning-la-times-and-chicago-tribune