Reports in the radio industry are the FCC may vote this month to do away with the crossownership rules in the nation's 20 largest markets which would include Atlanta. The rule prohibits one company from owning a daily newspaper and radio stations in the same market. Basically the city grade signal of a radio station can't cover the city where the newspaper is located. Existing combinations have been grandfathered or operating with waivers extended periodically. Cox's radio, TV and newspaper are grandfathered but for instance they can't move 95.5 FM to a central city tower as it would place the city grade signal over all of the city of Atlanta. The FCC tried to do away with the rule a few years back but the order was overturned by the courts. This go around it's expected to stick because of the financial condition of most daily newspapers. It's generally viewed that a company being able to own a newspaper along with radio and TV stations in the same market is more likely to preserve the newspaper and the crossownership relationship with enhance the news and public service programming of the radio and/or TV stations. Cox has construction permits for 95.5 to locate on the WSB-FM tower...a permit to move 104.1 closer into Atlanta on an existing tower plus a permit to move 97.1 into northern Gwinnett County but that site requires a new tower unless it's modified to an existing tower. If this comes to pass as expected by month's end... any signal issues for 95.5 will be resolved and 104.1 and 97.1 would be greatly enhanced in the central city areas but the improvement for 95.5 will be he most dramatic. Cox was smart to go ahead and get this permits and sit on them until the law changed. 95.5 is unique in that its spacing distance from 94.9 and 96.1 was grandfathered. These three stations were shortspaced to each other prior to the current FM spacing rules which began in 1964. The FCC has indicated it doesn't intend to change the rules which determines how many stations a single company can own in a market. The expected change only deals with companies which own daily newspapers and radio stations. They will no longer be restricted in their signal enhancement over the newspaper's city of publication.
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Cross Ownership Rule likely to be repealed in Top 20 markets
- Thread starter artsutton
- Start date
And to add to this; 95.5 also has a sound signal in Atlanta even though the tower is well northwest of the city. Neither of the COX stations have signal issues in any part of Cobb, Clayton, Fulton, Dekalb or Gwinnett counties (with the exception of the Cheshire Bridge Rd area).
jabba17 said:
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Rick Rose 2.0
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The only construction permit Cox has is for 104.1 to move to Palmetto share a tower with 96.7/107.9fm. The proposed facility changes for 95.5 and 97.1 are still at the application stage and are not construction permits. It is true owner ship of the AJC is keeping signal improvements from happening for 95.5 and 97.1 but i don't know the whole deal with 104.1 considering the CP has been issued.
acheron82 said:
acheron82, don't you mean northeast of the city? Not northwest? 95.5 & 97.1 share the same tower near Chateau Elan. If 95.5 did move to northwest of Atlanta away from Chateau Elan, this is the first I'm hearing about it.
There's no reason for the cross-ownership rule to still be in effect, and there hasn't been for years. The rule's intention was to prevent one owner from monopolizing a point-of-view regarding current issues. People have had so many sources for getting news that the rule is tremendously outdated. It's amazing that it's taken this long for the FCC to knock it down.
Grandfathering 95.5's right to be short-spaced is another story. One prominent Atlanta engineer told he wonders whether 95.5's move to New Street will create major interference among 94.9, 95.5 and 96.1.
Grandfathering 95.5's right to be short-spaced is another story. One prominent Atlanta engineer told he wonders whether 95.5's move to New Street will create major interference among 94.9, 95.5 and 96.1.
If I was running the show at Cox, to avoid any interference when (if) 95.5 moves to a tower downtown, it would be mono, no HD, and possibly no RDS. I would even consider a "stonewall" type low pass audio filter that they clamped on AM's in the 1980's or 90's (IIRC) only I would have the attenuation start around 11KC.
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