I thought this might be of high interest to all of us. ABC News Nightline is devoting tonight's program to the FCC and the Media Ownership issue: -- Andy Oppel, N6AJO Pacific Division Vice Director --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nightline Daily E-Mail May 28 TONIGHT'S FOCUS: With little to no public debate, the Federal Communications Commission is poised to approve a massive rewriting of the rules governing ownership of television stations and other media. What's at stake? Should you be worried? A lot of people, from the National Rifle Association to the National Organization for Women, think you should be concerned. Very concerned. Have you noticed that radio stations sound more and more alike these days? They seem to be operating from the same song lists. Well, that's because many of them are. Seven years ago the FCC loosened the restrictions on the number of radio stations that a corporation may own, and today there are 30% fewer radio station owners. One such owner, Clear Channel, grew from 43 stations, to nearly 1200 stations in that time. Fewer independently owned radio stations = more homogenous sounding radio. So what? You can always buy CDs, right? Well, the problem is even more troubling to critics than just artistic censorship, which is troubling enough on its own. Diversity of opinions, competition and the news marketplace are elements of our democracy that we sometimes take for granted. Without such freedom of ideas, what will we lose? Its hard to say what will happen, but many people are worried, including some strange bedfellows, such as the National Rifle Association and the National Organization for Women. The FCC is likely to approve changes next week for television that are similar to the ones it approved six years ago for radio. These changes would lift many of the restrictions on ownership of media, including local television stations, newspapers, cable and broadcast networks. A single corporate owner, currently limited in the number of media outlets it can own in a single market, will be freed to buy more. Supporters of these changes — including the Disney Corporation, which owns ABC News — argue that the looser regulations will benefit both stockholders of media companies, as well as their consumers. They argue that such measures will allow smaller media organizations to stay afloat during a harsh economic climate. ABC's Lisa Stark will look at the FCC's proposed changes and the potential impacts it may have on communities and individuals. She'll describe one community in North Dakota, where the radio stations are nearly all owned by the same corporation and the old adage "in the event of an emergency, tune to your local radio station," was an empty promise. Ted Koppel will talk with FCC Chairman Michael Powell about the proposed changes. We hope you'll join us. Sara Just and the Nightline Staff ABCNEWS Washington bureau