IRVINE, CA-- Once again there is a widespread outcry over a possible FCC relaxation of restrictions on television, radio station and newspaper ownership. But, said Alex Epstein, a junior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute, "Media ownership restrictions should not only be relaxed, they should be abolished altogether.

"These draconian regulations, justified on the grounds of 'localism,' suppress freedom in the media marketplace--by preventing successful media companies from buying television, radio stations, or newspapers from willing sellers. Those who want to run stations focusing on local news should have to compete in the free market. If local owners can't succeed on the airwaves, they are free to try cable or the Internet--but they have no right to get the FCC to muscle out superior competitors on their behalf."

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Alex Epstein is a junior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute. Mr. Epstein's Op-Eds on business and government regulation have been published in major newspapers such as the Detroit Free Press, Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Arizona Republic, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Orange County Register.
 
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