Cornyn Signals Support for Modernizing FCC Media Ownership Rules

posted on 5.05.2025

- Cites Local Broadcasters’ Community Trust, Civic Leadership

Acknowledging that the FCC’s media ownership rules have left local broadcasters at a competitive disadvantage with Big Tech giants, Sen. John Cornyn this week signed onto a joint Senate letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr urgently supporting efforts to modernize the agency’s antiquated restrictions.

The ownership regulations are “in urgent need of modernization,” Cornyn and 21 fellow Senators said, as local broadcasters vie for audience, content, and advertising not just with each other, but with the world’s largest tech companies.

“The regulations, designed for a bygone era, no longer reflect this reality,” they said.

Local broadcasters’ standing in their communities as being unmatched in delivering trusted, accurate reporting underscores the need to act quickly, Cornyn and his colleagues wrote.

They cited broadcasters’ accountability journalism, civic engagement and lifesaving updates during emergencies when “broadcasters are first to respond and last to leave.”

“By modernizing broadcast ownership restrictions,” the Senators write in closing, “the FCC can empower broadcasters to fulfill their essential role in American democracy, foster local journalism, and benefit local communities and the public interest.”

The final letter was not available at press time. TAB will share it with members when it is.

DC Advocacy

The joint Senate letter and a similar one sent by a bipartisan group of 73 House members stems from one-on-one advocacy by TAB in early March when a delegation of 18 Texas broadcasters met with all but two members of the state’s congressional delegation to address key policy concerns.

The House letter sent earlier in April including the following eight Texans:

• Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo
• Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound
• Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth
• Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio
• Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Dallas
• Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Tyler
• Rep. August Pfluger, R-San Angelo
• Rep. Randy Weber, R-Friendswood

Gill serves on the House Judiciary Committee, while Goldman and Pfluger serve on the Telecommunications Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee.

Both panels share oversight of issues pertaining to the broadcast industry.

Questions? Contact Oscar Rodriguez or call (512) 322-9944.

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