The Newspaper Guild's involvement is unsurprising; it fears that huge, profit-driven conglomerates stifle editorial diversity and slash jobs to win favor from Wall Street bean-counters. But Blethen, the only major publisher in the country who defends the FCC rules, likely has more complex motivations. While he seems to genuinely believe that the trend toward media consolidation is generally antithetical to the public interest, he also has good reason to fear for the future of the Times if, as widely expected, the rules are lifted. In Seattle, the much larger Hearst Corporation (owner of 12 newspapers and 27 television stations around the country) owns the rival Post-Intelligencer.
The FCC rules limit the number of television and radio stations a company can own in one market, bar any company from controlling television stations that collectively reach more than 35 percent of television households nationally, bar companies from owning more than one television network, and, most significantly for Seattle, bar cross-ownership of a newspaper and television station in the same market.
P-I sources claim that as part of a long-term strategic plan to bolster their weakening daily, Hearst is intent on purchasing a Seattle television station should the FCC restrictions be lifted.
At present, sources say, Hearst is eyeing the assets of ailing Fisher Communications, which recently announced it would sell two FOX affiliates in Georgia at a loss to raise cash; Fisher's holdings include Seattle's ABC affiliate KOMO 4 and a Portland ABC station, among others. Hearst's cross-ownership of Seattle media would likely benefit the P-I, the argument goes, potentially reversing the Times' long-term dominance of the intense daily newspaper rivalry. KOMO and the P-I already have a web content-sharing agreement in place.
Asked about this possibility, a Hearst spokesman declined comment. But Chris Wheeler, a senior vice-president at Fisher, confirmed that Hearst "covets Fisher, especially our two large-market stations, and would love to have them." He added, though, that Hearst's interest is "one-sided, on their part," and there have been no formal talks between the companies regarding a possible acquisition or asset sale.
Interestingly, Bill Gates' Cascade Investments recently substantially increased its stake in Fisher to more than five percent of the company. The move may indicate that the software magnate's investment advisors are betting the elimination of the FCC ownership restrictions will put Fisher in play as an acquisition target, thus vastly bidding up its value. Cascade could not be reached for comment.
On September 12 the FCC announced that it is reviewing the cross-ownership limit. FCC chairman Michael Powell has made plain his belief that given the emergence of new media venues like cable and the Internet such limits are outdated. With billions in potential profits at stake, almost every major newspaper power in the country--from corporate chains like Hearst, Gannett, and Knight Ridder to the family owners of the New York Times and the Washington Post--have quietly backed Powell's stance.
But not Blethen. On October 22, the Times and the Newspaper Guild joined a handful of other media and public interest groups to petition the agency for more time to respond to the FCC review. Currently the comment period runs out December 2, and if approved, the rule changes could be announced next spring.
Blethen has long been publicly outspoken in his support for the FCC limits, arguing that engaged local ownership produces better journalism--a stance for which he wins fulsome praise from Newspaper Guild president Linda Foley. That fighting the proposed relaxation may be in his interest does not mean he isn't right, she argues.
Times spokesperson Kerry Coughlin says Blethen's position is born of a "genuine passion for independent journalism," not out of conjecture about Hearst's plans. "We do not base any responses on rumor," she adds.
