FCC Media Ownership Field Hearings Needed, Copps Says
NORFOLK, Va. -- FCC Comr. Copps wants hearings on media ownership issues expected to come before the Commission, such as broadcasters’ desire to lift a ban on TV station and newspaper cross-ownership. The FCC, expected to revisit the contentious rules after a court defeat, must do better than it did under former Chmn. Powell at gathering public contributions, “evidence” and “granular analysis,” Copps told us before speaking here on a media ownership panel at Old Dominion U.
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Copps wants to know how specific cities would be affected by lifting cross-ownership rules, he told us: “We ought to have ownership hearings around the country. Not just one… It’s very hard to generalize” from one place to another. Such a tack could apply to consideration of lifting rules permitting ownership of 2 TV stations in smaller markets, he said: “If we go in and do our homework and compile a granular record you could craft a series of rules that would virtually sail through the court system.”
Consumer electronics makers and other industries must do a better job of educating customers on the 2009 DTV transition and on digital radio, Copps said. Comr. Adelstein is correct to say business must step up, Copps said: “We ought to make sure that happens, or you could end up with some angry folks in 2009.”