The House is considering a resolution of disapproval to undo the FCC’s relaxation of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule.

In December the commission changed the ban to allow one company to own both a daily newspaper and either a TV or radio station in a market, in the top 20 television markets, under certain conditions.

Both the House and Senate Commerce Committees had urged the commissioners to hold off on ownership action until the broadcast localism proceeding was completed.

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., is lead sponsor of the resolution, which is a companion bill to a measure introduced earlier this month in the Senate by Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.

Inslee has several co-sponsors for the measure, which gives Congress an opportunity to nullify an action taken by a federal agency within three months.

(Radio World)