Donna Gregg, the new FCC Media Bureau Chief, is a limelight-shunning, highly effective D.C. communications attorney, former colleagues said. Gregg, called a “lawyer’s lawyer” by many, has made a mark with advocacy efforts as a FCBA member. “She’s not a grandstander. She is not someone who confuses herself with the issues,” said Precursor Group analyst Rudy Baca, who worked at the FCC for 12 years. “She is not someone who jumps immediately to the commissioners,” Baca said.

The long-awaited Supreme Court ruling in the Brand X cable modem case could come today (Mon.), although many predict the court will take a few more weeks. Meanwhile, players are pondering legal strategies contingent on the outcome, ranging from appeals to the FCC for regulatory action to lobbying efforts to get new federal legislation adopted.

The broadcast industry has succeeded despite itself, said Media Access Project Pres. Andrew Schwartzman. But “the string has run out on broadcasters,” he said at a New America Foundation forum. Schwartzman said broadcasters haven’t gone far enough on the digital transition legislation. The forum promoted the Foundation’s senior research fellow Jim Snider’s new book on how local TV broadcasters exert political power. Speaking at the forum, Michael Petricone, CEA vp-govt. affairs, criticized broadcasters for focusing on regulating other industries. Absent from the forum were broadcasters, though the audience was told they were invited.

The FCC is seeking more comment and empirical evidence to aid its examination of cable horizontal and vertical ownership limits, it said Tues. Among issues in the 2nd further notice of proposed rulemaking is a requirement that the FCC set limits on a cable operator’s subscriber reach and the number of its own channels it can run on its system.

Time Warner and Comcast will buy Adelphia for $17.6 billion in a complex agreement that includes a court- approved $440 million fee Adelphia must pay if the deal isn’t completed, the companies announced Thurs. The widely expected agreement, nailed down late Wed., is subject to U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval. It would give Comcast about 1.8 million new subscribers for about $1.5 billion in cash, plus other assets.

Among many unsolved issues on the FCC’s plate, the DTV transition is a big one, said FCC Comr. Adelstein at the NAB convention. “Of particular concern is channel assignments,” Adelstein said. Another is interference from unlicensed devices, which he suggested should be tested in rural areas: “It’s possible we could be more aggressive in rural areas on unlicensed devices. We don’t want to do it at the expense of broadcasters. But I think it makes sense to start out in rural areas.” He characterized telecom efforts to migrate into broadcast as “one of the greatest developments since satellite radio.” But on satellite radio, Adelstein said the true “hallmark” of HD radio is local content not available over satellite radio. On indecency, NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher said President Bush has made it “very clear” parents should have the tools to weed out unwanted content. -- TP

Sale of Adelphia to Time Warner-Comcast wouldn’t be in the public interest of cities and local franchising authorities that oversee cable rates, advocacy groups warned mayors Wed. in a letter to cities within the deal’s radius. “We ask you to join us in opposing the sale of Adelphia Corp.’s cable systems to Comcast and Time Warner Cable and the transfer of local Adelphia cable franchises to those companies,” the letter said.

Rather than focusing on jurisdictional issues given prominent play in the plaintiffs’ case, the U.S. Supreme Court questioned plaintiffs in the Brand X cable modem case about how the FCC defines an information service. Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer closely queried plaintiffs about the FCC’s classification of cable modem service as an information vs. a telecom service.

Rather than focusing on jurisdictional issues given prominent play in the plaintiffs’ case, the U.S. Supreme Court questioned plaintiffs in the Brand X cable modem case about how the FCC defines an information service. Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer closely queried plaintiffs about the FCC’s classification of cable modem service as an information vs. a telecom service.

The U.S. Dist. Court, Conn., ruling that The Tribune Company was in violation of the FCC’s newspaper-TV cross- ownership rules (CD March 22 p7) may not affect similar cases, said Media Access Project CEO Andrew Schwartzman. “Other cases have much more colorful claims,” he said. An FCC source said it was too soon to determine how the ruling would possibly affect other broadcasters who seek waivers to the media ownership rules. The ruling that the Tribune divest its WTXX (WB) Waterbury, Conn., station was “wrong and seriously flawed,” the Tribune said in a statement late Mon. The Tribune, which also owns WTIC (Fox) in the same market, purchased The Hartford Courant in 2000, putting it in violation of the FCC’s newspaper- broadcast cross-ownership ban. Since then, the Tribune was granted two 6-month waivers to divest WTXX. The Tribune then sought a permanent waiver. Schwartzman said the Tribune didn’t show that it was working to sell the station but was merely waiting for the courts to rule on the FCC’s media ownership rules. The Tribune argued that the district court judge reached his decision by applying FCC rules that are currently on remand from the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia. The Tribune, which is appealing the ruling, said nothing in the court’s decision “changes our view on the likelihood of cross-ownership relief. We continue to believe the rule will be relaxed and all Tribune markets will be in compliance without required divestitures.”