BY DAN
KENNEDY
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Wednesday, May 28, 2003
An ode to Rupe. Media Log
would be very surprised if Rupert Murdoch repurchased the Boston
Herald as soon as the FCC's cross-ownership rules are dropped
next week. As
I wrote last Friday,
Herald owner (and former Murdoch lieutenant) Pat Purcell may
be going through a rough patch, but there are no signs that the
wheels are coming off just yet.
But five years from now? Three?
One? Well, who knows? And even if Purcell finds a way to maintain his
independence, that doesn't mean deregulation won't present
opportunities to do some kind of joint venture with his old boss, who
owns Boston's WFXT-TV (Channel 25).
So it's predictable, I guess, that
today's Herald offers a
full-throated paean to Rupe
-- a fight song presented in the form of an editorial, complete with
attacks on the "loony left," Ted Kennedy, and the Boston
Globe.
Meanwhile, the
Washington Post's Frank Ahrens
reports that progressive
media groups continue to battle against what had been a foregone
conclusion -- that the FCC would drop its rule against someone's
owning newspapers and television stations in the same market, and
also let companies own TV stations that reach 45 percent of the
national audience, up from the current 35 percent.
Particularly aggressive is
MoveOn.org,
which has reportedly gathered 170,000 signatures in opposition to the
deregulatory scheme.
This fight may not be over
yet.
posted at 8:36 AM |
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Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
