Senators resist media consolidation plan
Todd J. Gillman
The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON (KRT)—A Feder
al Communication Commission plan
to relax media ownership rules came
under fire Tuesday at a Senate hear
ing, with lawmakers from both par
ties complaining that the FCC is
moving too quickly and would allow
too much consolidation.
“I see it doing the companies lots of
good. It’s more revenue, more profits,
more control,” said Sen. Frank Lauten
berg, D-N.J. But he said, “What possible
good can come if we get down to five
companies controlling broadcast?”
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine,
echoed the concerns, saying, “This
is really the last barrier. It’s the last
bulwark against open, unfettered
ownership.”
No FGG officials testified, but
chairman Michael Powell has said
the changes are long overdue. He has
scheduled a June 2 vote on the plan,
citing a congressional mandate to re
view ownership rules every two
years, and federal court rulings that
say current restrictions lack suffi
cient legal basis.
Consumer groups and other crit
ics say there are already too few me
dia companies. FGG members didn’t
see the proposal until staff submitted
it late Monday. On Tuesday, the two
Democratic commissioners asked
Powell, a Republican, to delay a vote
for 30 days. Nearly 100 House De
mocrats have signed a letter seeking
a delay, as well.
Through a spokesman, Powell de
clined to comment.
The FGG proposal would let a single
company own TV stations that reach
45 percent of the national audience,
up from 35 percent. It also would make
it easier for companies to own two or
more TV stations in a single market,
and to own a newspaper and TV sta
tion in the same market.
The Newspaper Association of
America and big media companies
such as Tribune Go. and Gannett
Inc. want to repeal the “cross-own
ership” rule.
Dallas is one of 40 “grandfathered”
markets, with a newspaper and TV
station under common ownership;
Belo Corp. owns both The Dallas
Morning News and WFAA (Channel
8). Belo executives support relaxed
ownership rules.
Senators heard from two publish
ers with vastly different views on the
issue. The NAA’s immediate past
president, William Dean Singleton,
vice chairman and GEO of Medi
aNews Group, which publishes the
Denver Post and 49 other papers,
called the cross-ownership ban “ar
chaic.” But Frank Blethen, whose
family publishes The Seattle Times
and five other papers, warned that
lifting the ban would result in more
absentee owners driven by profit
rather than public service.
© 2003, The Dallas Morning News.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
Emerald
Luke Ridnour is the second player ever to be named Pac-10 regular season player of
the year and Pac-10Tournament MVPforthe same season.
I
Ridnour
continued from page 1
with the Williams & Connolly, LLP
law firm based in Washington, D.C.,
and will be represented by lawyers
Lon Babby and Jim Tanner. The law
firm also represents NBA stars Tim
Duncan, Grant Hill and Shane Bat
tier, and WNBA star Chamique
Holdsclaw.
“We’re just really excited about
the opportunity he has,” Ridnour’s
mother, Muriel Ridnour said in a
phone interview Tuesday. “We feel he
has a bright future ahead of him.”
Ridnour, who grew up in Blaine,
Wash., has six weeks to work out for
teams prior to the June 26 NBA Draft.
He had until June 19 to withdraw
from the draft without signing an
agent to retain his college eligibility.
“I prayed a lot, and it felt like the
right time to make this decision,”
Ridnour said. “I think the Lord has
a plan for me, and this is part of it.
It’s time for me to do this.”
Ridnour is the second player ever
to be named Pac-10 regular season
player of the year and Pac-10 Tourna
ment MVP for the same season. He
also earned an honorable mention All
American from The Associated Press.
“We support him 100 percent,”
Muriel Ridnour said. “We know he’ll
be successful.”
The 6-foot-2-inch junior ranked
second in the Pac-10 last season
with 19.7 points per game and led
the league with 6.6 assists per game.
“I hope the fans realize how
much I appreciate the way they sup
ported the team whether we were
good or bad,” Ridnour said. “Playing
at (McArthur Court), I had the
greatest time of my life.”
Ridnour set Oregon and Pac-10
records with 62 consecutive free
throws made during his junior sea
son. He also set a school record with
218 assists during the season and
tied another record with 63 steals.
On the Oregon career lists, Rid
nour ranks ninth in scoring with
1,399 points, second in steals with
150, third in assists with 500 and
third in three-point shots with 203.
“With coach (Ernie) Kent’s help,
I’ve been able to get an idea of where I
might be chosen in the draft,” Rid
nour said. “You never know for sure,
but I feel pretty good that I’ll go some
where in the first round.”
Ridnour and teammate Luke Jack
son announced their plans for the
NBA Draft on April 18, with Ridnour
declaring himself eligible and Jackson
deciding to stay for his senior season.
The duo led Oregon to a fifth-place
finish in the regular season before
winning the Pac-10 Tournament. It
was the first time a team other than
UCLA or Arizona had won the tour
nament in its six-year history.
Ridnour is the second Duck to
leave early for the NBA. Terrell
Brandon left after his junior season,
during which he was named the
Pac-lO’s Player of the Year, in 1991.
Brandon was chosen 11th overall by
the Cleveland Cavaliers. He recently
finished his fourth season with the
Minnesota Timberwolves and his
11th season in the NBA.
Williams & Connolly, LLP current
ly represents 14 NBA players, 12
WNBA players and one NFL player.
“They represent some quality
guys with good character who have
had a lot of success in their ca
reers,” Ridnour said. “I felt comfort
able choosing them.”
Ridnour was named Pac-10 Fresh
man of the Year after the 2000-01 sea
son, the first Duck to earn the award.
He started all 96 Oregon games in his
college career.
Contact the sports reporter
at mindirice@dailyemerald.com.
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Privacy
continued from page 1
U.S. legislators with the intention
of safeguarding the country from
terrorism by arming the federal
government with expanded police
powers. However, since it was first
adopted, the act has been the tar
get of concerned civil rights ac
tivists, including
here at the Uni
versity, where
some feel that stu
dents’ privacy is
at stake.
Bo Adan, a mem
ber of the Con
cerned Faculty for
Peace and Justice,
said the USA PA
TRIOT Act gives
federal agencies the
authority to snoop
in places they used
to not have access
to. Librarv check
out lists, e-mail correspondence and
student financial aid records are just a
few of students’ formerly protected,
private information.
The Concerned Faculty for Peace
and Justice’s motion won’t be able to
prevent the University from sharing
data with federal agencies, but it will
require the administration to let the
University know if and when feder
al agents have pawed through stu
dent information.
Gordon Lafer, another member of
the Concerned Faculty for Peace
and Justice, said he and his col
leagues feel it is necessary to pass
the motion in order to protect stu
dents. Lafer said the USA PATRIOT
Act stomps all over the civil liberties
that the federal government once
took such pains to protect. He added
that he fears federal agents using the
PATRIOT Act have the ability to tar
get college students and other
American citizens for surveillance
because of their political views.
“This is un-American and should
n’t be happening,” Lafer said.
Adan said he doesn’t think the
University administration has yet
been ap
proached by
federal agents
seeking infor
mation. But
he pointed
out that this
doesn’t mean
it won’t hap
pen in the fu
ture, or that
people
shouldn’t be
upset about
the state of
civil liberties
in America.
"/ think the idea
of the University as a
sanctuary for ideas and
opinions is shared by
administrators...the
PATRIOT Act didn't come
from Johnson Hall."
Gordon Lafer
Concerned Faculty for Peace
and Justice member
The administration at the Uni
versity of Oregon and at universities
across the country are being pres
sured to comply with provisions in
the USA PATRIOT Act, and we feel
that it is inappropriate for federal
agencies to be making these re
quests in the first place,” Adan said.
Lafer said if the motion passes at
today’s Faculty Senate meeting, he
doesn’t think the University admin
istration will object to reporting on
whether federal agents have tried to
access student information.
“I think the idea of the University
as a sanctuary for ideas and opin
ions is shared by administrators ...
the PATRIOT Act didn’t come from
Johnson Hall,” Lafer said.
Contact the senior news reporter
atjenniferbear@dailyemerald.com.