The FCC’s Local Radio Ownership Rule has drawn a steady stream of visitors to commissioners’ offices this summer. Now Cox Media Group is the latest broadcaster to press the case for looser radio ownership rules directly to commissioners.
On August 11, Cox Media Group Radio President Rob Babin, Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel Alysia Long, and Corporate Counsel Taylor Lamb met with Maher, the same advisor Beasley Media Group met with several weeks earlier. The CMG team also met separately with Deena Shetler, chief of staff and legal advisor to Commissioner Anna Gomez.
Connoisseur Media CEO Jeff Warshaw and Beasley Media Group CEO Caroline Beasley separately met with Chairman Brendan Carr and his staff in June, followed by meetings with Commissioner Olivia Trusty and her senior legal advisor. Connoisseur’s legal team also met with FCC Media Bureau staff.
CMG’s argument largely follows the case Beasley and Connoisseur have already presented: the local radio ownership caps are relics of a marketplace that no longer exists. Radio now competes with streaming audio, podcasts, satellite radio, social media, and digital advertising companies that face no comparable ownership restrictions.
According to CMG, that disparity makes it harder for local broadcasters to grow audiences, compete for advertising dollars, and invest in the local news, emergency coverage, and community service that underpin their public-interest obligations.
The meetings are part of the FCC’s long-delayed 2022 Quadrennial Review, which the Commission voted 3-0 to restart in September 2025. The proceeding also covers the Local Television Ownership Rule and Dual Network Rule.
Public comments closed in December, with reply comments following in January. The rulemaking remains pending, however, and the FCC’s ex parte rules continue to give broadcasters and other interested parties a chance to make their case directly to commissioners and staff.
