OBAMA: FCC’S OWNERSHIP TIMELINE ‘IRRESPONSIBLE’ Jeffrey Yorke – Radio and Records Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) wants FCC chairman Kevin Martin to pull back on his proposal to "move forward aggressively" with changes to the existing media-ownership rules and vote on the changes during the commission's Dec. 18 meeting. "I believe both the proposed timeline and process are irresponsible," Obama wrote to Martin in a heated 700-word letter sent Monday (Oct. 22).
Obama told Martin that minority-owned and -operated newspapers and radio stations play a critical role in the black and Latino communities, and he believes that the commission “has failed to further the goals of diversity in the media and promote localism.... As a result, it is in no position to justify allowing for increased consolidation of the market.... It is time to put together an independent panel, as commissioner [Jonathan] Adelstein has recommended, to issue a specific proposal for furthering the goal of diversity in media ownership.”
Obama said he objected to the agency moving forward to allow greater consolidation in the media market without first fully understanding "how that would limit opportunities for minority, small-business and women-owned firms.”
Obama also took a shot at Martin and the commission for what he says is its ”propensity to vet proposals through leaks in the press and lobbyists.” He noted that a GAO report in September found that “situations where some, but not all, stakeholders know what the FCC is considering for an upcoming vote undermine fairness and transparency of the process and constitute a violation of the FCC’s rules.
“In the wake of that report, I find it disturbing that, according to The New York Times, the commission is considering repealing the newspaper and television cross-ownership rules. It is unclear what your intent is on the rest of the media-ownership regulations. Repealing the cross-ownership rules and retaining the rest of our existing regulations is not a proposal that has been put out for public comment; the proper process for vetting it is not in closed-door meetings with lobbyists or in selective leaks to The New York Times."
Obama has become a growing critic of the FCC. In September, his letter criticizing media consolidation was read out loud during the FCC’s final of six national regional public hearings on media ownership. He asked that the FCC “put out any specific changes that would be voted on in a new notice of proposed rulemaking so that the American people have an opportunity to review it.” In June 2006, he and Sen. John Kerry co-authored a letter to Martin advising him that the FCC needed to “address and complete a proceeding on issues of minority and small-business media ownership before taking up the wider media-ownership rules.”
He concluded his Monday letter asking Martin to reconsider his proposed timeline, “put out any specific change to the rules for public comment and review, move to establish an independent panel on minority and small-business media ownership and complete a proceeding on the responsibilities that broadcasters have to the communities in which they operate.” |