By David Ho
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - FCC chairman Michael Powell rejected a request from two of his commissioners to delay a decision on overhauling rules governing ownership of newspapers and TV and radio stations.

The Democrats on the five-member Federal Communications Commission had asked Powell on Tuesday to push back a June 2 vote by a month to give them more time to study an internal agency proposal that recommends easing ownership restrictions.

"I must respectfully decline to postpone," Powell said Thursday in a statement. "There is precedent for granting such a request, but it is not customary to do so over the strong objections of a majority of commissioners."

Powell said he also needs to meet a timetable set by Congress.

The proposed plan would allow companies to own more TV stations in local markets, reaching more U.S. homes. It also would eliminate many restrictions on one company owning combinations of newspapers and TV and radio stations in the same city.

Michael Copps, one of the Democratic commissioners, said Powell is rushing to vote on proposals that could change the media landscape in ways not fully understood.

"The chairman's decision not to make these proposals public, nor even to grant a short delay in voting, runs roughshod over the requests of the American people," Copps said. "This is no way to do business when critical issues affecting every American are at stake."