In its comments to the FCC, the Newspaper Association of America urged it to repeal the newspaper/broadcast crossownership ban.

NAA emphasized in its comments that—even though the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected certain aspects of the FCC's efforts to relax the rule three years ago—the court recognized the crossownership prohibition was no longer in the public interest.

"This rule is a relic of the 1970's—a time when the Internet, satellite television and radio, cell phone, Wi-Fi and iPods were not even visible on the distant horizon," said NAA president and CEO John F. Sturm. In its comments, NAA makes the following points:

• Over the last three decades, and even in the lastthree years since the 2003 FCC rulemaking decision, the marketplace hasbecome far more diverse, competitive and crowded with news and informationvoices. Independent local news and information sources now prosper on theInternet, from blogs, to neighborhood message boards toadvertiser-supported local sites. Given the rise of these local sources,the FCC should have no difficulty building a record on the vital role thatthe Internet now plays in the local marketplace for news and information.
• Repeal of this rule means increased production of higher quality local news and public affairs programming. As NAA reiterated in previous filings, studies reveal that newspaper- owned broadcast stations that were grandfathered into place when the rule was established typically produce higher quality local news than other stations.
• Newspaper owners are committed to assuring the editorial autonomy of its newspapers and television stations. Dictating news positions from a central office is virtually unknown in the modern era of journalism.

"For these and numerous other reasons, the FCC should examine the potential benefits of crossownership closely, and not accept the notion that it can be narrowed down to a 30-second sound bite of ‘all media consolidation is bad,'" Sturm said. "No cross ownership rule is needed now or in the future."