"Without much notice, the federal government is moving toward the most sweeping change ever in the rules that govern ownership of the American news media.

This shift could reduce the independence of the news media and the ability of Americans to take part in public debate. Yet because of meager press coverage and steps taken by the Federal Communications Commission in its policy-making process, most people probably have no idea that it is taking place.

Having seen how totalitarian regimes moved the world to war through domination of their news media, the government during the 1940's put restrictions on how many news media outlets one company could own, both nationally and in a single city.

Though those rules have been relaxed in the last 20 years, companies are still blocked from buying a newspaper and television station in the same city or from owning more than one TV station in the same market.

Three weeks after it proposed eliminating those rules, the F.C.C. released a series of reports about the current media marketplace. But the reports focused almost entirely on the economic impact of relaxing the ownership rules. They largely ignore the public's interest in a diverse and independent press."

The worst thing about Colin Powell is his son.  He's quickly moving to make the American media landscape even more homogenized than it already is, something hard to imagine possible.  Imagine the worlds of local television and newspapers going the way of ClearChannel, the evils of whom I've mentioned here before. 

"The precedent in radio is telling. Since the rules on ownership of radio were last relaxed in 1996, the two biggest companies went from owning 130 stations to more than 1,400. "

The worst part is that they're trying to slip it past the public without anyone noticing.

"The F.C.C. chairman, Michael K. Powell, has scheduled only one public hearing, in Richmond, Va., on the proposal, and the public comment period will close at the end of this month. It is a small and brief opportunity, but one that the public should seize if it cherishes an independent press. "

Take the opportunity.  FAIR has an alert up about this and provides the following information on who to contact:

"ACTION: Let the FCC and Congress know that you want the rules that limit media consolidation to be preserved and strengthened, not weakened.

1. File a comment with the FCC. The Center for Digital Democracy has a form that simplifies the process:
http://www.democraticmedia.org/getinvolved/ownershipAction_FCCFiling.html

2. Write to your elected officials. You can look up the name and contact information of your Congressional and Senate representatives by entering your zip code at:
http://congress.org/

As always, please remember that your comments are taken more seriously if you maintain a polite tone. Please cc fair@fair.org with your correspondence. "

[via Metafilter]