House FCC Oversight Hearing Addresses Lloyd, Diversity and Fairness Doctrine

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said the FCC's Chief Diversity Officer, Mark Lloyd, would be concentrating on broadband and would not be dealing with FCC broadcast license issues. Rep Greg Walden (R-OR), a former broadcaster, said he took personal offense at Lloyd's writings that "commercial broadcasters want to be public trustees but without responsibility," and said he was further troubled by a paper he suggested indicated that Lloyd supports reaching the same comes of the Fairness Doctrine via different means. Chairman Genachowski once again reiterated his opposition to the Fairness Doctrine. Saying sometimes "repeating relentlessly" was necessary, he told a House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing audience Thursday that he did not support the doctrine's return, "either through the front door or the back door." He also said he respected the First Amendment and freedom of expression and opinion. But Chairman Genachowski also drew the distinction between that and promoting diversity. He said that there is a bipartisan consensus that media diversity is an important objective of FCC policy, as it has been since it was made part of the core principles back in 1934, as it has been supported by the Supreme Court. "The idea of having diversity as an objective of the FCC and having a staff focused on it seems to be a natural extension." Rep Walden was still not mollified given some of the "outrageous things" he said Lloyd has said in the past. "That is not going to bring balance to that diversity position you created." Also weighing in was Commissioner Michael Copps, who has been highly critical of what he sees as an attempt by critics to paint diversity initiatives as a stealth campaign to muzzle the media. He said the committee should take the chairman up on getting to know Lloyd better. He praised Lloyd's work at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, saying he was of "inestimable help with the DTV transition in helping mobilize nontraditional stakeholders in getting the word out on DTV. He has a very distinguished record."