Facts v. ideology. Ideology wins again

It's typical of the Bush administration. FCC conducted a study to learn the effects of concentration of media ownership. Whoops, the study found it would hurt local TV news coverage. Not consistent with the ideology, so we'll deep six the report.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage, a former lawyer at the agency says.

The report, written in 2004, came to light during the Senate confirmation hearing for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. received a copy of the report "indirectly from someone within the FCC who believed the information should be made public," according to Boxer spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz.