A wary eye on private media

A WARY FIGHT ON PRIVATE MEDIA
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, AUTHOR: Becky Yerak byerak@tribune.com]
Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps sees a need to scrutinize the growing influence of private-equity firms and hedge funds in broadcasting. He's called for an inquiry into the impact of private-equity firms and hedge funds on the FCC's ability to oversee the public airwaves. Unlike publicly traded companies, few private-equity firms or hedge funds file detailed financial and ownership information with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commissioner Copps said. "If some big private-equity firm buys something, and one of its licensees does something deemed to be against the public interest, who's responsible?" he said. "I don't know the answer, but this commission has a special charge from Congress to regulate in the public interest, and it needs the information to make an intelligent decision." Commissioner Copps concedes that private equity could turn around a struggling company, but "I'm just afraid that more of these deals are of the strip-and-flip-it variety, where they go in and make a buck and do little to enhance the company," he said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun_coppsfeb17,0,7249342.story