Over the last 18 months, appellate judges in Washington repeatedly have overturned or remanded the FCC's media-ownership rules, saying they lacked adequate justification. As a result, FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell has said his agency will unveil a new set of media-ownership rules by next year.

"The FCC is going to use these studies to provide the justification for all these future rules," said Richard E. Wiley, a former FCC chairman.

"The studies released today reveal a deeply flawed perspective that--while ratifying the chairman's view--fails to adequately assess the realities of the news and entertainment media marketplace," [Jeff Chester] said. "A research agenda on this critical issue should be developed and conducted outside of the FCC--not with staffers who must please the chairman."