Media Ownership Rules Forum

COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL KERNOCHAN CENTER FOR LAW, MEDIA AND THE ARTS ANNOUNCES A FORUM ON THE FCC MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES

New York, NY - The Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts at Columbia Law School hosted a forum for the discussion of Media Ownership Rules currently under review by the Federal Communications Commission. This forum took place on January 16, 2003 at the Frank Altschul Auditorium at Columbia University from 9:30am - 5 pm.

FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell created the Media Ownership Working Group (MOWG) and charged it with developing a solid factual foundation for re-evaluating FCC media ownership policies. These policies are: the Broadcast-Newspaper Cross-Ownership Rule; the Local Radio Ownership Rule; the Television-Radio Cross-Ownership Rule; the Dual Network Rule; the Local Television Ownership Rule; and the National Television Ownership Rule. The FCC has affirmed its interest in seeking public input about them as part of the Public Comments process related to the consolidated rule- making. (The FCC studies can be found at http://www.fcc.gov/ownership/studies.html)

These findings have been debated and widely interpreted. "This forum gives an opportunity to those who will be directly affected to voice their thoughts and opinions regarding these proposed changes," said June Besek of Columbia Law School's Kernochan Center. "We have invited a wide range of panelists from studio heads to independent producers, from politicians to the public in addition to the FCC Commissioners who will ultimately make the decisions. We hope that this forum will present a comprehensive discussion of the changes and how they will affect the entire country."

Columbia's Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts was established to contribute to a broader understanding of the legal aspects of creative works of authorship, including their dissemination and use. The Center has encouraged the development of instruction at the Law School in topics such as intellectual property, copyright, trademarks, the regulation of electronic media, and problems arising from new communications technologies.

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