The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent government agency created in 1934 to regulate the nation’s public airwaves and communications system. Its commissioners, who are appointed by the U.S. president to serve five-year terms, have the power to grant and revoke licenses to radio and television stations. For decades the FCC has used its control of the public airwaves to impose various rules restricting media ownership. A 1941 rule barred companies from owning more than a handful of television stations. A 1970 FCC rule barred companies from owning radio and TV stations in the same market, while in 1975 the FCC banned cross-ownership of a newspaper and broadcast outlet in the same market. The rationale behind these and other regulations was to encourage competition and prevent single individuals or companies from monopolizing the media and exerting too much control...