Copps Questions Broadcasters Use of Spectrum

Speaking at the Federal Communications Commission second workshop to kick off the 2010 Quadrennial Review of Media Ownership Rules, Commissioner Michael Copps said, "There are many important issues pending before the FCC. In long-term importance, none exceeds-and I don't think any matches-the future of our media environment. If we can't fix what's broken, if we can't rejuvenate broadcast journalism, reopen shuttered newsrooms, put the brakes on mind-numbing monoprogramming, stop the dumbing-down of our civic dialogue and take advantage of the great potential of local broadcasting, then maybe those who want that spectrum back have the better of the argument." Noting that some broadcasters strive to serve the public interest, Commissioner Copps lamented that "their ranks have been thinned, to say the least, and we've made it-Wall Street and Washington, DC have made it-ever more difficult for them to act as they would like to act while the tune has been called by Wall Street and see-no-evil government regulators." He called on his colleagues at the FCC to not use the media ownership review to delay much needed action on minority and female ownership, localism, and public interest licensing.