,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bfdc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bb1     
#bjad ,mr4 ,booker 7for himself and     
,mrs4 ,fischer7 introduced the following
 bill2 which was read twice and referred
 to the ,committee on ,commerce1        
,science1 and ,transportation  ,a ,,bill
  ,to require a report by the ,federal  
,communications ,commission on          
designated market areas4  #a4 ,report on
 designated market areas  7a7           
,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the
 term appropriate congressional         
committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee  
on ,energy and ,commerce and the        
,committee on the ,judiciary of the     
,house of ,representatives2 and  7,b7   
the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1  
and ,transportation and the ,committee  
on the ,judiciary of the ,senate2  7#b7 
the term ,commission means the ,federal 
,communications ,commission2  7#c7 the  
terms designated market area and local  
market have the meaning given those     

terms in section #abb7;j7 of title #ag1 
,united ,states ,code2 and  7#d7 the    
term television broadcast station has   
the meaning given the term in section   
#cbe7;b77#g7 of the ,communications ,act
 of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cbe7;b77#g774 
7b7 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3 7#a7 ,the telecommunications 
and media policy of the ,united ,states 
has long valued localism1 competition1  
and diversity of voices4  7#b7          
,broadcasters play an essential role in 
providing critical emergency alerts1    
news1 and information that responds to  
the needs of their communities4  7#c7   
,broadcast television remains an        
important medium for reaching           
communities1 even as technological      
innovations and new forms of            
communication continue to expand4  7#d7 
,it is in the public interest to study--
 7,a7 how designated market areas impact
 access to local and in-,state          
programming2 and  7,b7 how any          
deficiencies in localism might be       

addressed4  7c7 ,report  7#a7 ,in       
general ,not later than #ah months after
 the date of enactment of this ,act1 the
 ,commission shall submit to the        
appropriate congressional committees a  
report that contains-- 7,a7 an analysis 
of-- 7i7 the extent to which consumers  
in each local market have access to     
broadcast programming from television   
broadcast stations located outside their
 local market2 and  7ii7 7,i7 whether   
there are alternatives to the use of    
designated market areas to define       
markets that would provide consumers    
with more local programming options2 and
  7,,ii7 the potential impact the       
alternatives described in clause 7i7    
could have on localism and on broadcast 
television locally1 regionally1 and     
nationally2 and  7,b7 recommendations on
 how to foster increased localism in    
,states served by out-of-,state         
designated market areas4  7#b7          
,considerations for fostering increased 
localism ,in making recommendations     

under paragraph 7#a77;,b71 the          
,commission shall consider-- 7,a7 the   
impact that designated market areas that
 cross ,state lines have on access to   
local programming2  7,b7 the impact that
 designated market areas have on local  
programming in rural areas2 and  7,c7   
the state of local programming in       
,states served exclusively by           
out-of-,state designated market areas4