The FCC's New Agenda

THE FCC'S NEW AGENDA
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
With a Republican majority for the first time in his tenure, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has a number of proceedings he'd like to launch as soon as the Commission's June 15 meeting. Chairman Martin informed the other commissioners of his intention to take up the ownership issue June 15, though he is free to change the agenda right up until the meeting. Martin is likely to get the votes to get the ownership proceeding started, since it only marks the beginning a process that is likely to take a year or more. It would, in that sense, be a "first vote for progress" on a long-stalled issue, one that would have little apparent downside. The ownership item is said to consist of a proposed rulemaking rolling up several elements, including a proceeding begun in 2001 to define radio markets, a proceeding on newspaper/broadcast crossownership, the 2003 deregulatory rules and the FCC's quadrennial review (Congress requires it to review its rules every four years). It will lay out the issues, call for comment and replies -- 45 days for comment, 15 for replies -- and go from there. Democrats Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein are likely to push for swift FCC action on two other ownership-related proceedings, a localism proceeding launched by Chairman Michael Powell in 2003 to quell some of the criticism of the derogatory ownership rules, and a DTV public interest obligation proceeding launched in 1999. Chairman Martin is also expected to call for a vote on granting broadcasters' multicast must-carry at that meeting if the commissioners haven't already voted the item on circulation, which is a vote by computer that does not require the commissioners to meet. The newest commissioner, Robert McDowell, could be sworn in to his post by the end of the week -- perhaps even today -- and, in theory, could ask that the must-carry vote be delayed a month. The must-carry proceeding is said to consist of an order reversing the FCC's earlier decision denying multicast must-carry, plus a notice of proposed rulemaking on whether cable can degrade the DTV signal and whether cable or subscribers have to pay for the DTV set-top box to receive it.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6339724?display=Breaking+News