The Federal Communications Commission has cleared 32 radio mergers that had been flagged by the commission for closer competitive analysis. In 1998, the FCC began putting aside certain radio deals to look at them more carefully because of worries over widespread consolidation stemming from a 1996 telecommunications law that ended restrictions on how many radio stations a company could own nationwide and eased caps on how many stations a company could own in a local market. "I do not believe the public interest is served by inaction," said newly appointed FCC Chairman Michael Powell. "Further delay is neither warranted nor just."