CC Vote In: We Lose 3 to 2 - Media Diversity Loses Straight Across The Board

Hey guys. We know that we all worked really hard on this, and at least we made our voices heard, even if it turns out that they just don't care what we think.

We should be used to that by now from this regime. Michael Powell is, of course, another arm of the Shrub Regime that believes that the wealth of our nation belongs in the hands of a few select individuals that "know best" for everyone else.

Well you can bet that this isn't over yet. It just means War. War on media conglomerates that don't care about their responsibilities to the public as broadcasters. If these companies are going to be in charge of everything we see and hear over television and radio, it's going to be up to us to keep watchful eye over them. And I don't mean a friendly, understanding watchful eye, I mean more like a watchful eye that they have to contend with on a regular basis in order to conduct business in a profitable manner.

To my knowledge, there are still some requirements that stations have to meet in order to fulfill their public interest requirements as broadcasters. Let's determine exactly what those requirements are and start organizing inspection teams that travel from station to station checking their public records and sending the inevitable violations to the FCC.

"Like weapons inspectors?" a friend said to me when I told him this idea.

"Yeah, very much like weapons inspections." I replied. "This is War, isn't it?"

Here's a link to the real video of today's meeting at the FCC.

Here's a story by Frank Ahrens for the Washing Post with more details:
FCC Votes to Ease Media Ownership Rules

An ideologically fractured Federal Communications Commission voted 3 to 2 along party lines today to relax or eliminate some key media ownership rules, allowing a newspaper to own a television station in the same city and broadcast networks to buy more stations at the national and local levels...

The vote has engendered public opposition by lawmakers, consumer and advocacy groups and unaligned citizens who fear that further media consolidation will make it more difficult for those with minority viewpoints to get their message out. On Friday, the FCC's voice- and e-mail systems were temporarily shut down by a deluge of public comments. The agency has received more than 500,000 e-mails and postcards opposing the changes...

For better or worse, the proposed regulations are to be known as the "Powell Rules."

"I have had to make peace with myself, to know with every fiber of my being and intellect and faith with the law that this is the right answer, at least in the short term," Powell said. "Though it's not the popular answer."

Others think the answer is both unpopular and wrong.

"I'm glad they won't be remembered as the Copps rules," said Copps, who has opposed Powell's attempts to relax media ownership rules at nearly every turn. "They will take the media and the country into very perilous waters. I think we are damaging localism, diversity and competition, making it harder for alternative viewpoints and information to see the light of day."

Copps and Adelstein suggested several edits to the proposed rules changes, such as requiring merged media properties to spell out what public service programming they would produce and holding them accountable. Their modifications were rejected by the Republican majority, which said the suggestions came late in the process and were based on flimsy legal justification.

Here is the full text of the entire article in case the link goes bad:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3076-2003Jun2.html?nav=hptop_tb

FCC Votes to Ease Media Ownership Rules

By Frank Ahrens
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 2, 2003; 2:14 PM

An ideologically fractured Federal Communications Commission voted 3 to 2 along party lines today to relax or eliminate some key media ownership rules, allowing a newspaper to own a television station in the same city and broadcast networks to buy more stations at the national and local levels.

FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell joined fellow Republican commissioners Kathleen Q. Abernathy and Kevin J. Martin in approving the changes, while Democrats Jonathan S. Adelstein and Michael J. Copps voted against the changes.

The vote has engendered public opposition by lawmakers, consumer and advocacy groups and unaligned citizens who fear that further media consolidation will make it more difficult for those with minority viewpoints to get their message out. On Friday, the FCC's voice- and e-mail systems were temporarily shut down by a deluge of public comments. The agency has received more than 500,000 e-mails and postcards opposing the changes.

Powell, who has called the controversy "one of the toughest things I've ever faced," said earlier that the current rules fail to take into account the growing influence of Internet and paid television programming, and have been broadly questioned by the courts. Five of the agency's most recent media rules have been thrown out by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington.

Powell said in an interview yesterday: "If I did exactly what I am being urged to do," which is to let the current rules stand, "the result would be disastrous," meaning the rules would be tossed out by the court, leading to an unpoliced environment of unfettered consolidation.

Few issues are likely to define Powell's six-year tenure at the regulatory agency like the outcome of today's vote, FCC commissioners and industry members said.

For better or worse, the proposed regulations are to be known as the "Powell Rules."

"I have had to make peace with myself, to know with every fiber of my being and intellect and faith with the law that this is the right answer, at least in the short term," Powell said. "Though it's not the popular answer."

Others think the answer is both unpopular and wrong.

"I'm glad they won't be remembered as the Copps rules," said Copps, who has opposed Powell's attempts to relax media ownership rules at nearly every turn. "They will take the media and the country into very perilous waters. I think we are damaging localism, diversity and competition, making it harder for alternative viewpoints and information to see the light of day."

FCC staff members recommended lifting the 28-year-old ban prohibiting a newspaper from owning a television station or radio station in the same city, except in the smallest cities. The staff also favored relaxing older rules on television station ownership, allowing broadcast networks and other companies to buy more stations at the national and local levels. The staff members have recommended tightening radio ownership rules that led to widespread consolidation in recent years.

No issue has so deeply divided the commission along partisan lines in some time, say former FCC officials and industry lawyers.

Each side has accused the other of politicizing the process and being intransigent. "This thing has gotten very rough; unnecessarily rough," Powell said. "I would be naive and probably wrong to suggest that it's only business and tomorrow we'll go back to business. Some things [fellow commissioners] have said have crossed the line of civility and respectful discourse."

Copps and Adelstein suggested several edits to the proposed rules changes, such as requiring merged media properties to spell out what public service programming they would produce and holding them accountable. Their modifications were rejected by the Republican majority, which said the suggestions came late in the process and were based on flimsy legal justification.