The enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 fundamentally changed the basis of broadcast and communication media regulation and the structure of broadcast media in the United States. Touted by its proponents in the American media industry as a remedy for a regulatory regime viewed as non-competitive, the Telecommunications Act fundamentally changed ownership restrictions, reshaping local markets and effectively shifting ownership from local to non local entities. This research assesses the effects of this sweeping deregulation of U.S. broadcast media by disaggregating national data...