NAB, Democrats and the Election

NAB, DEMOCRATS AND THE ELECTION
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Washington turned Democratic blue after last week’s midterm elections, with broad implications for broadcasters and cable operators. The change in the makeup of the House and Senate could affect the TV-sex-and-violence debate and give new ammo to foes of media consolidation. A veteran lobbyist sees a tough time for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin on ownership issues, with hearings and perhaps even legislation blocking further deregulation. One lobbyist says Democratic Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps, vocal consolidation critics, “will be happy to gin things up.” This lobbyist, however, says, “I expect, if they do anything on ownership, it will be [lifting the ban on newspaper/broadcast crossownership] and that will be it.” The old Congress comes back this week for a last, lame-duck hurrah, but that will likely be focused on the budget. One broadcast-related action could be FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s renomination hearing and vote. There has been a hold on his nomination, widely believed to have been placed by Senator John Sununu (R-NH) over Internet- phone issues.
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