The fight over the XM-Sirius merger, playing out at the FCC, demonstrates the need for the FCC to develop some way of distinguishing whether comments filed are phony or real, Andrew Schwartzman, CEO of the Media Access Project, said Monday. Schwartzman, whose group opposes the merger, was one of several speakers during a debate sponsored by the D.C. Bar Association.
The largest-ever FCC inspector general’s report is deeply flawed, said one of several senators who had requested the study, along with former bureau staffers and opponents of media consolidation. They said the report glossed over significant problems at the agency and its Media Bureau. The IG unfairly singled out Kenneth Ferree - the bureau chief in 2003 and 2004 when two reports were held back -- as the only agency official deserving administrative punishment, said three people who worked in the office at the time. The IG didn’t fully explain why the two reports weren’t released, two staffers said. Another said the IG should have interviewed him. The IG’s office said the report, written independently, was thorough. FCC officials declined to comment, referring questions to the IG.
FCC officials didn’t suppress two media ownership studies under Chairman Michael Powell, a year-long Inspector General report said (CD Sept 20 p1). But the report raised troubling questions about why Kenneth Ferree, then Media Bureau chief, blocked release in 2003 of a report on radio consolidation by circulating an e-mail questioning the wisdom of releasing the reports at the time. The FCC Inspector General found that a report on local TV news wasn’t made public in 2004 because Media Bureau staff deemed it shoddy. The IG noted internal dissent on the report’s worthiness for release. One author thought it could go out; all revisions sought by supervisors had been made. But the IG concluded that neither Ferree nor other FCC officials tried to squelch either study.
The FCC should talk about rulemakings to all parties at the same time, the Government Accountability Office said in a report faulting the agency for filling in corporate officials before making the same information public. The report issued Wednesday urged more “transparency in the rulemaking process.” The study focused on information obtained by lobbyists, though a Communications Daily report also was mentioned.
The federal government has a “good case” at the Supreme Court in appealing a remand of an FCC policy of fining broadcasters for airing a lone curse during a show, said FCC Commissioner Michael Copps. The U.S. Solicitor General was correct to plan to appeal the fleeting expletive decision by the 2nd U.S. Appeals Court in New York, Copps told reporters Thursday. The Solicitor General’s decision to seek a further extension, to Nov. 1, to file an appeal telegraphs an intention to appeal, said Media Access Project President Andrew Schwartzman. The high court granted the extension, said Schwartzman, a participant in the case, Fox v. FCC. Copps thinks the FCC has “legal precedent” in making “a sound case,” he said. “I think the court has always been cognizant of the influence of media.” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was “pleased” about the solicitor general’s decision, he said. Broadcast lawyers have said the FCC faces a high hurdle in getting the Supreme Court to hear oral argument on the case because the 2nd Circuit cited procedural, not constitutional, grounds in its ruling. A Fox spokesman said the broadcaster will “respond in due course” after the solicitor general files. - JM
PHILADELPHIA -- The FCC appeared to face doubts during oral argument over an indecency fine it levied against CBS (CD March 17/06 p1) for a split-second broadcast of Janet Jackson’s breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. The three judges hearing CBS v. FCC at the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court in Philadelphia questioned the logic of the $550,000 penalty. Judge Marjorie Rendell scathingly grilled Eric Miller, assistant to the solicitor general, about why Jackson should be treated as a CBS employee. Miller represented the FCC and the rest of the federal government. Rendell also poked at arguments by Robert Corn-Revere, representing CBS, to the effect that the FCC didn’t do enough to take community standards into account. Other judges also had tough questions for him.
The FCC caught flak from within for its handling of a Comcast CableCARD waiver request, whose denial by the full commission finally was made public late Tuesday. In a rare joint concurrence, Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Robert McDowell said the Media Bureau should have been more consistent and less selective in its treatment of many waiver requests.
The FCC caught flak from within for its handling of a Comcast CableCARD waiver request, whose denial by the full commission finally was made public late Tuesday (CD Sept 5 p12). In a rare joint concurrence, Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Robert McDowell said the Media Bureau should have been more consistent in its treatment of many waiver requests. Commissioner Michael Copps said the FCC took too long to issue the denial, which came a month and a half after votes were tallied. With the wait over, Comcast said it will sue the agency. Bureau Chief Monica Desai said that contrary to Comcast claims the bureau handled its petition no differently than others.
The United Church of Christ will appeal Tuesday’s Media Bureau dismissal of its opposition to FCC renewal of licenses for two Miami TV stations whose parent companies refused to run the church’s ad. Dismissing the petition to deny renewal of NBC Telemundo’s WTVJ and CBS-owned WFOR-TV, the bureau said the church didn’t say either station declined to air the spot (CD Aug 9 p12). That doesn’t invalidate the complaint, said Media Access Project President Andrew Schwartzman, on behalf of the church. “Networks do not hold licenses, so unless the public is able to challenge network-owned stations through the license-renewal process, there is no recourse,” he said. “We have a strong case for reversal.” Some CBS and NBC affiliates did agree to run the ad touting the church’s inclusiveness, but the church said it sought to buy spots across broadcast networks to reach more viewers.
The FCC’s year-long media ownership review is gaining momentum with the public unveiling of 10 economic studies, after many were delayed, as well as the imminent release of a rulemaking notice on minority ownership (CD July 30 p1), said FCC and industry sources. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin seems poised to circulate a final report and order dealing with most or all aspects of media ownership limits by the end of the first quarter, said an FCC official. A second official said the chairman wants to wrap up public comments on all aspects of the review by year’s end, which could bode well for a final order to circulate on the eighth floor in Q1.