Criticism of the FCC's chairman is widely aired

CRITICISM OF THE FCC'S CHAIRMAN IS WIDELY
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
Employees at your Federal Communications Commission said tensions were bogging down the panel. Reviews of corporate mergers and sales frequently stretch longer than the six months the agency aims for. Critics have complained that important issues -- such as the 2009 transition to digital television and reforming a fund that subsidizes phone and Internet service for low-income and rural residents -- are taking a back seat to bickering. "There's budding upheaval here if some of these abuses don't get addressed," said an FCC official who requested anonymity to avoid irritating the Commission's Chairman, Kevin Martin. The infighting does not bode well for the agency's effectiveness during what is likely to be Martin's last year as chairman with a new administration taking power in 2009. Commission employees said that Chairman Martin, chairman since 2005, keeps his plans tightly wrapped, believing there's a tactical advantage in springing them on other commissioners with little notice. For example, last month commissioners learned the details of his proposal to ease restrictions on owning a newspaper and broadcast station in the same market when they read about it in an opinion article by Martin in the New York Times. "He is a lone operator," said an FCC insider who did not want to publicly criticize Martin. "Sometimes even his own staff doesn't really know what he's thinking and what's he's going to do next."
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-fcc10dec10,1,4586613....
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