Chairman Michael Powell says his agency will examine the effects of its recent decision.
By Associated Press
Published August 19, 2003
ASPEN, Colo. - FCC chairman Michael Powell says his agency will examine the effects of concentration in media ownership this fall, a nod to critics of the FCC's rollback on restrictions for owning newspapers and TV and radio stations.
Powell's surprise announcement Monday came at an annual gathering of telecommunications executives.
He gave no details about what the Federal Communications Commission examination will entail, saying they will be provided Wednesday at a news conference in Washington.
"As much as I'm invested in the rules that we did ... I have an obligation as an expert adviser to make sure this is channeled into something constructive," Powell said. "There is a sentiment being expressed by the American public, a concern about the media, a concern about big media."
Led by Powell, the Republican-dominated FCC voted 3-2 on June 2 to ease decades-old restrictions on decades-old media ownership rules. The changes, which go into effect on Sept. 4, allow a single company to own TV stations reaching nearly half the nation's viewers and combinations of newspapers and broadcast outlets in the same area.
The FCC's decision prompted criticism from a broad range of groups and lawmakers, as well as legal challenges. Opponents say the changes will leave a few major companies in control of much of what people see, hear and read.
Powell said the FCC will "put itself back in the leadership position in trying to look at these concerns and direct them in a much more focused and positive direction rather than the mudslinging that I think we've seen this summer."
Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access Project, a Washington-based media watchdog group, said he's watching what Powell "does, not what he says"
"He's going full speed ahead in implementing the rules," Schwartzman said. "He can study to his heart's content and it's not going to change what's going on."
The Media Access Project, representing several opponents of the rules, filed a request Monday with the FCC to prevent the regulations from going into effect next month.
"A stay would permit Congress to complete its deliberations as to whether the rules should be overturned," the group said.
Powell insists the rule changes will benefit consumers by promoting competition and innovation.
Major media companies said changes to the rules were needed because the old regulations hindered their ability to grow and compete in a market altered by cable television, satellite broadcasting and the Internet.
Broadcasters and consumer groups are taking the FCC to court over the changes, with groups appealing the rules both for allowing too few and too many mergers.
Lawmakers from both parties are pushing to roll back some or all the changes, a fight expected to heat up when Congress returns from its August recess.
Powell said an effort in the Senate led by Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., to undo all the FCC changes "doesn't make any sense to me." He said that would reinstate old rules that already have been rejected by courts.
"You're at risk of creating conflict and incohesion that I think puts the rules at very serious risk," Powell said. "It's not the right way to talk about how to do this."
The Republican-led House dealt Powell a surprising setback last month when it passed a spending bill that included a provision preventing a single company from owning enough television stations to reach more than 35 percent of the nation's viewers.
