Comcast-NBC Universal still may face FCC field hearings even after the Media Bureau...
Comcast-NBC Universal still may face FCC field hearings even after the Media Bureau denied a request to pause review of the deal until holding the sessions (WID April 6 p3), agency and public interest officials said. Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and…
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Michael Copps have expressed support for the idea, and colleagues may not object if the hearings are scheduled, they said. The commission hasn’t made a decision, they said. Representatives of three of the groups that sought the informational hearings said they're optimistic that they'll get at least one. That’s because the two Democratic commissioners want the hearings, and they'd show that the FCC is taking extra steps to be transparent and let people comment on the deal without making a filing, the activists said. A Media Bureau spokeswoman declined to comment. “Having a hearing allows people to go talk to the commissioners and really put a face on it, and I think that’s important to the commission in its review,” said Policy Counsel Corie Wright of Free Press. “I'm hopeful that they realize and acknowledge that that’s the particular role they can play in vetting this merger” as part of the public-interest review. The Media Access Project, another group requesting hearings, will “press very hard for them, and I am cautiously optimistic that we will obtain them,” said Senior Vice President Andrew Schwartzman. “I think that the commission is going to see the broad public concern that’s being raised and this is a commission that is committed to transparency.” A Comcast spokeswoman declined to comment.