FCC Opens Ownership Review Docket (Again)

It's been a long time coming, but the FCC late MONDAY finally released its Further Notice Of Proposed Rule Making on ownership rules.

The review, ordered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, includes reviews of opwership limits for local TV and radio, crossownership of broadcast and newspaper interests in the same market, the "dual network rule" preventing common ownership of two of the "big four" TV networks, and the "UHF discount" used in determining a company's national reach for ownership cap purposes. The Commission has expanded the comment period to 120 days for the docket and will hold six public hearings across the country on the issue,

"You should expect your government to do more this time."

Chairman KEVIN MARTIN said that "the Commission should take into account the competitive realities of the media marketplace while also ensuring the promotion of the important goals of localism and diversity. As the item indicates, the Commission will look carefully at the relationship between media ownership and localism as it moves forward with this rulemaking. To that end, the Commission will incorporate into this proceeding the efforts undertaken on this issue since the last examination of our media ownership rules." 

Copps: Demand More

Commissioner MICHAEL COPPS. who complained that "localism is not front-and-center in this proceeding" and that it does not offer specific plans to increase minority ownership, warned that "in WASHINGTON, things aren’t always what they seem. In fact, this innocuous-looking document initiates the single most important public policy debate that the FCC will tackle this year. Don’t let its slimness fool you. It means that this Commission has begun to decide on behalf of the American people the future of our media. It means deciding whether or not to accelerate media concentration, step up the loss of local news and change forever the critical role independent newspapers perform for our Country."

"We have a choice to make," COPPS added. "Will we repeat the mistakes of the past? Or will we work for a process and an outcome that respect the millions of Americans that care deeply about their communities’ media and what their kids watch, hear and read? We’ll soon know what choice the FCC makes.... If you see hearings in your hometown, instead of a just a few preselected cities, you’ll know. If you see FCC Commissioners come to listen to your point of view personally, instead of expecting you to hire a $500 an hour lobbyist to get heard, you’ll know. If the FCC contracts for independent, well-funded studies and seeks public comment on those studies, instead of buying a few-half hearted, time-crunched papers that slide into the record without comment, you’ll know. And, critically, if the FCC shows you the specific rules that will reshape the American media before forcing a vote, instead of rushing from this short document to a final vote, you’ll know.

"You should expect your government to do more this time." 

Adelstein: Proceeding A "Blank Check" For Media Conglomerates

Also complaining was Commissioner JONATHAN ADELSTEIN, who charged that "the manner in which the Commission is launching this critical proceeding is totally inadequate. It is like submitting a high-school term paper for a Ph.D. thesis. This Commission failed in 2003, and if we don’t change course, we will fail again.

"The large media companies wanted, and today they get, a blank check to permit further media consolidation. The Notice is so open-ended that it will permit the majority of the Commission to allow giant media companies to get even bigger at the time, place and manner of their choosing. That is the reason I have refused to support launching this proceeding until now, and it is why I am dissenting from the bulk of this Notice. This Notice is thin gruel to those hoping for a meaty discussion of media ownership issues."

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