THE US: In some US cities, people viewing their local television news might see their familiar weatherman detail the forecast with the home station's logo behind him. But in reality the broadcaster could be hundreds of miles away, in a master-studio with dozens of other local logos, pretending to be with the crew at the local TV station. Conor O'Clery reports
This cost-cutting centralisation of local broadcast services is one of the consequences of big television companies buying up small stations across the US. It is likely to become much more widespread after the decision yesterday of the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington to abandon rules going back 30 years that restricted media ownership.
New regulations will now allow companies to buy even more television stations and to acquire newspapers and radio and television outlets in the same city. Opponents campaigned furiously against the move, arguing that it would ignite a frenzy of media mergers with large companies grabbing control of media outlets and homogenising opinion, while diminishing local news and programming.
One of the big victors is Mr Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation, which already owns Fox News Channel, 20th Century Fox TV and film studios, the New York Post and other media properties, and is poised to buy DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite television provider.
Opponents of the new rules ranged from consumer advocates, civil rights and religious groups to Democrats, writers, musicians and local broadcasters. They argued that common ownership of newspapers and television stations in one city would mean they would not monitor each other and would reflect largely the political slant of the company. Fox News and the New York Post, for example, push a strong Republican message.
The campaign against relaxing the rules was supported by, among others, Ted Turner - who said he could not have started CNN in today's concentration of media power - and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Rifle Association.
The FCC vote was split 3-2 along party lines, with the three Republicans voting in favour. However, some Republicans in Congress have voiced concern that giant corporations will become bigger and that single entities will control too much of the US media, making it more difficult for minority viewpoints to be heard.
The issue is a setback for long-time opponents of deregulation such as Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy who successfully fought decades ago to prevent Mr Murdoch from owning both a newspaper and a television in his home city of Boston.
News Corp spokesman Mr Andrew Butcher said: "No single company has brought more choice to American TV viewers in the past two decades than News Corp - that's a simple fact."
News Corp and Viacom, which owns CBS and UPN, will benefit from the new 45 per cent national TV ownership limit, as mergers have left them above the previous 35 per cent ceiling.