On October 1, the Federal Communications Commission released 12 studies as part of a review of Broadcast Ownership Rules, marking the start of a 90-day comment period. At the end of those 90 days, on January 2, 2003, the FCC may very well repeal the final remaining media ownership restrictions, thus paving the way to even greater levels of corporate media consolidation. As FCC head Michael Powell said, "no merger proposal would be deemed unthinkable" by his agency.

Efforts are underway to raise awareness of these changes. In the Chicago area, the Chicago Media Watch Political Action Committee is organizing a Halloween-and-corporate-media-themed informational walking tour of downtown Chicago on October 18, 2002, with stops scheduled at a number of media-themed locations. The tour is timed to coincide with Media Democracy Day on October 18, an international day of education and protest on media matters.