Q&A with FCC Report Head Writer Steve Waldman

The Federal Communications Commission released its long-awaited, 365-page report, “The Information Needs of Communities.” The report’s chief writer, Steve Waldman -- co-founder of News Corp.’s Beliefnet and a former Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report staffer -- has been doing the rounds this week, sounding alarms about the precipitous drop in local accountability reporting outlined in his tome, and selling and defending recommendations some have called “disappointing.”

Among those recommendations: the creation of state C-SPANs in every state; doing away with the localism proceeding and enhanced disclosure; funneling federal government advertising, for things like military recruitment, to local media; and, requiring local TV stations to put disclosures, such as pay-as-you pay, online. Conspicuously absent: A hefty government-signed check. Meares met with Waldman in midtown Manhattan to discuss the reaction to his report, the enormous task of putting it together, and specific criticisms of its recommendations.