Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- President-elect Barack Obama will try to use his office to hinder media concentration and to increase local TV news coverage, objectives that have stirred resistance from industry groups.

The Illinois Democrat, who will succeed George W. Bush on Jan. 20, ``is going to push for a more open, more diverse media,'' Gloria Tristani, a former Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission, said in an interview.

Obama, 47, has sought to reverse last year's FCC ruling that makes it easier for companies such as Gannett Co. and Tribune Co. to own daily newspapers and nearby TV and radio stations in the 20 largest U.S. markets. A resolution co- sponsored by Obama and 26 other senators failed to clear Congress.

``It would be a challenge'' to get more relief from media ownership regulation under an Obama administration, said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the Washington-based National Association of Broadcasters, in an interview.

Obama has also made broader Internet access a goal and insisted that broadcasters focus more on public service. In a statement to the FCC last year, he called for ``new rules promoting greater coverage of local issues and greater responsiveness of broadcasters to the communities they operate in.''

No Mandates

Broadcasters are fighting rules that the FCC proposed to ensure local involvement. Those objecting in comments filed at the agency include News Corp.'s Fox Television Stations, Inc.; Walt Disney Co., owner of the ABC network; General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal and CBS Corp.

``Broadcasters do not need mandates from the federal government to motivate them to provide quality local service to their communities,'' NBC said comments filed in June.

Nick Shapiro, a spokesman for Obama, forwarded the senator's published technology plan and links to public statements when asked about policies toward media.

Obama ``strongly supports'' the principle of network neutrality, according to a policy statement posted on his Web site. He has said letting Internet providers, including cable companies such as Comcast Corp., charge fees that give some Web sites or applications priority over others ``would threaten innovation, the open tradition and architecture of the Internet, and competition.''

Cable Rules

The FCC censured Comcast in August for interfering with customers' Web traffic. Companies including Verizon Communications Inc. said the ruling showed current policies work and new laws aren't needed to ensure net neutrality. Obama's plan is silent on whether he would seek legislation.

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association, representing Comcast and others, declined to comment on Obama's possible plans.

Obama also wants to ``revitalize the debate'' about the gap between those with high-speed Internet access and those without, William Kennard, the last Democratic chairman of the FCC and an Obama adviser, told a forum sponsored by the non-partisan Media Access Project, a Washington-based non-profit public law firm.

``Let's lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America,'' Obama said as he announced his candidacy in February 2007.

His broadband plan suggests tax and loan incentives, and funding through a program, paid by telephone users, that now supports phone service in rural areas and inner cities.

Also in his technology proposal, Obama promises to ``reinvigorate'' antitrust enforcement. In contrast to the Bush administration, an Obama presidency would view media mergers ``very skeptically,'' Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge, a Washington-based public interest group, said in an interview.

To contact the reporter on this story: Todd Shields in Washington at tshields3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 4, 2008 23:04 EST