Have you heard? Fewer voices, fewer choices.(mass media)

In 1914 Henry Ford promised Model T buyers "any color so long as it is black." It might soon be that we can get our local news from any source as long as it's the Tribune Co. In December, the Federal Communications Commission voted along party lines to loosen three decades of restrictions barring a single company from owning a TV station and a newspaper in the same community.

Why does it matter who owns those two news sources in your city? After all, the old rules were written before the Internet, podcasts, and streaming broadcasts channeled information from so many places. Still, the two main sources for local news in almost every town are the local paper and the local TV station. If they're owned by a single company, odds are they'll present the same stories and opinions, limiting our knowledge and understanding of what's happening in our communities.

The new rule allows TV stations and newspapers in the country's 20 biggest markets to merge, with certain restrictions. In developing it, the FCC dismissed pleas and threats from Congress and ignored widespread public opposition.The FCC says there are sufficient "high hurdles" to protect the public. It will presume that a proposed merger will not be in the public interest unless there is clear and convincing evidence that "the merged entity will increase the diversity of independent news outlets" and increase competition.

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If the commission sticks to those benchmarks, or if ...