Sen Markey to FCC: Children's Television Proposals Lack Facts

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) hosted a press conference July 11 to call for the Federal Communications Commission to convert its children's television notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) into a notice of inquiry (NOI) so it can collect more data on the impact of its proposals. He was joined by Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and other children's TV advocates. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is planning a July 12 vote on an NPRM which which would not be a final vote, but would signal what the FCC wants to do (and what it still has questions about), with a final vote not coming until stakeholders had a chance to weigh in and the item adjusted accordingly (if need be). The item tentatively concludes that educational and informational programming does not have to be at least a half-hour in length and regularly scheduled. The agency also proposes cutting the frequency of kids TV reports to the FCC from quarterly to annually. Sen Markey says the proposals are not based on the kind of fact-driven inquiry needed for such changes and that FCC Commissioner Micahel O'Rielly's "hunches," (as Sen Blumenthal put it), are not enough to justify the proposals.