Media consolidation critic Byron Dorgan, the Democratic senator from North Dakota, wants the FCC's December decision to loosen ownership rules reversed. Says his statement: "When nearly half of the people in this country are told that in their cities and towns the media will get the green light to consolidate, they will not be happy." Actually, so long as the cable company's HBO OnDemand service stays online , customers will be happy. [Reuters]

Democratic FCC appointee Michael Copps will make it his personal mission to turn grey the hair on chairman Kevin Martin's head. Copps, pictured, who's held his post since 2001, wants to know why Alabama CBS affiliate WHNT dropped a broadcast of 60 Minutes last month when a segment about the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman aired. The news magazine "made the case that Siegelman had been wrongly convicted on the basis of a politically motivated case built by Republican prosecutors and White House political advisor Karl Rove." For its part, WHNT says the blackout wasn't intentional; an equipment failure was to blame for the lost feed. Skeptics remain, which is why Copps wants Martin to formally investigate the issue. Martin, a Republican appointee made chairman by President Bush, said only he would look into the matter. Collecting penalty fees from NYPD Blue and the Super Bowl remain significantly more important. [Reuters]

Not to be outdone by Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel announced in song form that he's fucking Ben Affleck. The cameo laden video is funnier than the scary dream montage from the Oscars. Plus, the FCC's ban on all things potentially offensive makes for good comedic timing.

FUCK THE FCC In response to the long lasting, detrimental effects of America’s children seeing fully exposed buttocks on NYPD Blue, the FCC’s fines on the 90s drama will stick. Forty ABC affiliates have two days to pay $27,500. We can’t think of a good kicker right now; we’re still traumatized by Janet Jackson’s nipple. [B&C]

Today on Today, Jane Fonda used a euphemism for vagina that is too terrible to reprint here. Meredith Viera quickly apologized for offending any viewers and then cheerifully told us about their next segment, "secrets to making your love last."

Here's our suggestion: Integrating words that the FCC disapproves of in the bedroom.

Might Liberty Media's John Malone be willing to give up its super-voting shares in IAC – and let both parties drop their lawsuits – if the scream queen just hands over HSN?

The TV shopping network is among the few bright spots in IAC's latest earnings report. A year ago and a few times in recent months, a similar deal to exchange assets was on the table, but was squashed because of concerns about HSN's future; the unit's 8 percent gain this quarter, under Nike import Mindy Grossman, might have calmed those fears.

CONTINUED »

LOOSELY INTERPRETING FREE SPEECH C-Span, Discovery Communications, the Weather Channel, TV One, A&E Television Networks, and Scripps Networks are all throwing down against the FCC in a new lawsuit based on its dual carriage rule, which requires cable operators to provide analog and digital signals for at least three years after the switch to all-digital broadcasts next year. The TV networks say the rule gives broadcasters an unfair advantage and violates the First Amendment. Because having to make room for two versions of the same channel infringes on a cable operators ability to "speak" to viewers. [Variety]

Warning: watching following clip of Diane Keaton cursing on Good Morning America may destroy all your morality.

DEFENSE! DEFENSE! FCC chairman Kevin Martin finds himself defending his recent decisions regarding media ownership, which some (like the Democrats on the commission) claim are filled with loopholes and will lead to a M&A frenzy. Martin says the rule changes were a mere "relatively minor loosening" of regulations. [AP]

Suuure, cable industry critic and FCC chairman Kevin Martin may have helped some media companies – by allowing ownership of both a newspaper and a TV or radio station in the same market, so long as there are at least eight other sources of news, and that the TV station is not among the top four – but he also managed to piss off some behemoths with his voting yesterday.

Namely, Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, which has been snapping up smaller outfits with hest. But the new rules mean no single company can control more than 30 percent of the cable market, which means Comcast's expansion ends right … NOW.

Unless it can get a court to overturn the ruling. And try, they will.

So while the struggling newspaper industry has been offered a de-regulatory hand-out, the booming (less that WGA mess) television industry was dealt a blow. Not that either side is happy.

CONTINUED »

As we approach Thanksgiving, the writers strike shows no signs of ending. The Week in Review, which usually features bits from late night monologues, has resorted to using jokes written in on their humor blog, Laugh Line. Dozens of shows have stopped production, and Lost might not resolve until 2009.

But those hams at SNL did not let the writers’ strike stop them from putting on a show. The cast performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater on Saturday night, while NBC resorted to broadcasting a rerun.

Michael Cera hosted the live act; Amy Poehler invited him earlier in the week via text message. We hope emoticons weren’t necessary to get him to perform.

CONTINUED »

Last month, Kevin Martin, head of the FCC, told the New York Times he wanted to repeal restrictions on owning newspapers and television stations in the 20 largest cities.

But soon after that, Michael Copps, a democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, announced that he wanted to open an inquiry into News Corp.’s takeover of the Wall Street Journal.

Sadly, the significance of this debate does not make it any more interesting. Regardless, Martin rebuts the only way an FCC chairman knows how: on the Op-Ed pages of the New York Times:

CONTINUED »

Last week the FCC was all, “you know, owning multiple forms of media in the same city isn’t such a big deal.”

But this week, they’re singing a different tune. Michael Copps, a democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, wants to open an inquiry into News Corp.’s takeover of the Wall Street Journal.

Currently the buyout is not under review, but it will result in one company controlling two of the country’s five largest papers along with two TV stations.

The FCC has no precedent in getting involved with takeovers of national papers, but as Fox’s Cody Willard can attest, Rupert Murdoch is kind of scary.

Good news media conglomerate owners: The FCC is going to relax some of its ownership limits. Kevin Martin, head of the FCC, wants to repeal the rule that forbids companies from owning newspapers and TV or radio stations in the same city. The proposal already has majority support and is slated to go through within the next two months.

Sadly, the FCC has no plans to relax its language standards, which would be good news to everybody else.

[NYT]

• NYDN chieftain Martin Dunn tries, fails to lure ex-newsies back to the paper. Insiders say negotiations faltered due to salary disputes and the Daily News being in "the worst location ever."

• Tony Blair characterizes media as a "feral beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits." Media expected to respond by destroying Blair's reputation out of spite.

• Although the WSJ newsroom will be undergoing major shake-ups later today, the paper is still expected to remain "boring and financey."

• Close friends and media elite gathered yesterday to belatedly mourn David Halberstam.

• Sirius CEO attempts to "woo" FCC with price cuts, and the possibility of more price cuts to come.

• Vanity Fair's 20-cover Darfur extravaganza has arrived! Our favorite is the extremely odd pairing of a pissed-off looking Bono with a hungover Condoleezza Rice.

• Ohhhh, apparently the covers were supposed to look like "a game of Telephone." Annie Leibovitz is so retro!

• Negligibly cute FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is still not happy about yesterday's federal appeals court decision.

• British TV Station rejects common decency, requests asking them not to air "Diana death pictures."

• Dow Jones union looking for an alternative bidder. Insiders say their criteria includes "anyone but Murdoch."

• Meanwhile, retired anchor Bernard Shaw is pained deeply by the impact Fox had on CNN's dynasty.

• New York Times copies Jossip, gets credit for taking blogging trend into mainstream.

We never thought we'd find ourselves siding with Fox (except on matters pertaining to Family Guy), but we are nevertheless pleased that a federal court has tossed the FCC's profanity rulings against said network, after determining that their current "fleeting expletives" policy qualifies as "arbitrary and capricious."

According to the court's 2-1 decision, the FCC's policy was deemed inadequate primarily because the commission had failed to "to articulate a reasoned basis for its change in policy."

In other words, by removing any wider-reaching First Amendment issues from their immediate consideration, the court is essentially saying FCC lost on a technicality.

Predictably, the FCC Chairman was rather agitated by the court's decision, however Fox spokesperson (and HuffPo's melodramatic blogging staff) were overcome by celebratory cheer.

"It does my democratic heart good to see the system work," begins overly effusive blogger Jeff Jarvis, in an understated piece entitled, "The First Amendment Wins One."

CONTINUED »

• Disfigured patients to be exploited for entertainment value on new reality tv show; prudish sorts protest.

• CBS plays its hand close to the vest by announcing that they would be "very interested" if Time Warner ever were willing to sell CNN.

• Nobody is watching local news anymore. Apparently everyone—even your grandfather—recently made the switch to The Daily Show.

• FCC continues to be unimpressed with Sirius/XM radio's proposed merger, Howard Stern's unique brand of lewd humor.

• "Man charged with putting 24 on the web." And the war on terror continues!

• The Weather Channel has apparently become a "hot-button" issue. And here we thought the Doppler 4000 was risqué!

Good news for AMC, as they move toward airing the entire Sopranos series: Violence on TV doesn't beget violent children. Rejoice!

Well, first consider that said belief comes from The Media Institute, a First Amendment mouthpiece. The FCC, you might've guessed, feels differently on the matter — and that's precisely what the free speech organization is countering. (It should be noted: NBC Universal, Time Warner, News Corp., Viacom, Tribune, and Gannett all have TMI's back.)

While the FCC may have issued a report concluding violence on TV harms children, The Media Institute says, in a paper lead by University of Toronto professor Jonathan Freedman, those claims are unfounded; the evidence just isn't in the research.

Freedman concedes that research shows there is a correlation between watching violent TV and aggressive behavior, but that the explanation may be that aggressive children tend to want to watch more violent shows, an "intuitive" explanation he says should be "ruled out before causation can be proved."

Freedman has been a leading critic of research asserting a causal connection between violent media and real violence.

He points out that the violent crime rate has been declining for the past 15 years, which would not support a theory that the increase in violent media causes more societal aggression.

That, or now that murder has become a suburban joke, that whole "acting out" thing has just lost its appeal.

According to today's New York Times, the F.C.C. has once again urged lawmakers to consider regulations that would restrict violence on tv. And, since this isn't our particular area of expertise, we thought we'd refer you to our FCC analyst, Cher Horowitz, for her thoughts. Cher?

So, OK, the Attorney General says there is too much violence on T.V. and that should stop. But even if you took out all the violent shows, you could still see the news. So, until mankind is peaceful enough not to have violence on the news, there's no point in taking it out of shows that need it for entertainment value. Thank you.

Nono, Cher. Thank you.