Re: Donna gets heard - and seen! (on Nightline, of course)

[Garrett Wollman <wollman@lcs.mit.edu>]

<<On Thu, 29 May 2003 01:27:30 -0400, "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyross.com> said:

> On 29 May 2003 at 0:07, Garrett Wollman wrote:
>> There has been talk of reintroducing the fin-syn rule (primarily on
>> the part of the two Democratic commissioners -- not a realistic
>> possibility).

> The what?

Financial Interest/Syndication.  The fin-syn rule prohibited the
networks from owning most of their programming outright, or profiting
from the sales of that programming in syndication.  When that rule was
repealed, it paved the way for networks to demand a greater financial
interest in hit programming, and now they have a significant ownership
stake in most of prime time.  A revival of the rule would probably not
be as strict as the old rule, and would simply prohibit the networks
from filling the schedule with programming they own.  Still highly
unlikely -- I don't see K Street sitting still for that, given the
strong interests of Disney, GE, and Viacom in the status quo.

-GAWollman