Copps: Silenced by fear

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Copps: Silenced by fear

Thu Feb 6, 1:05 AM ETAdd Entertainment - Hollywood Reporter to My

 

 

By Craig Linder and Brooks Boliek

 

WASHINGTON (The Hollywood Reporter) --- An FCC (news - web sites) investigation

into media industry consolidation has been hampered because key sources fear

they will lose their jobs if they come forward, commissioner Michael Copps said

Wednesday.

 

In a speech at New York's Fordham University, the Democratic member of the FCC

said that some consolidation opponents believe they will be fired, disciplined

or demoted if they speak out against the looser ownership caps that many large

media conglomerates are seeking.

 

" There are media professionals with strong feelings about the downsides of

consolidation for the American people who are afraid to speak for fear of

retribution, " he said. " We need to find a way for them to be heard. "

 

The FCC is reviewing several ownership regulations, including caps on the number

of television or radio stations a company can own in a single city, rules that

prevent a firm from owning a newspaper and television station in the same city

and nationwide limits preventing a single company from owning television

stations that reach more than 35% of the national audience.

 

Alex Johns, a legal adviser to Copps, said commission employees are working to

find a way to allow fearful employees to confidentially air their views on media

consolidation while ensuring that those views have the same weight as standard

public comments.

 

" They're scared of being blackballed, " she said of the potential witnesses.

" There is a genuine concern out there. "

 

Johns said no fearful witnesses had approached Copps directly but that his staff

had heard reports that employer retribution was preventing people from

testifying.

 

Copps also said Wednesday that the FCC would hold two hearings next month on

media consolidation at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and the University of

Washington in Seattle.

 

The FCC has come under fire for not venturing beyond the Washington Beltway in

seeking opinions on media consolidation. In response, FCC chairman Michael

Powell announced plans to hold a hearing in Richmond, Va. -- about 90 minutes

from the nation's capital -- on Feb. 27.

 

In a statement released late Wednesday, Powell said that 13,000 people filed

comments with the FCC as part of its review of broadcast ownership rules. He

scoffed at the idea that witnesses were being intimidated from participating in

the hearing process.

 

" It is gratifying to witness firsthand the unparalleled opportunities technology

now provides the American public to participate in the democratic process, "

Powell said.

 

Powell, a Republican appointee, also rejected Copps' call for more hearings

outside the Beltway.

 

" In the digital age, you don't need a 19th century whistle-stop tour to hear

from America, " he said.

 

Although Powell confirmed that he would attend the Richmond hearing, he did not

address either of Copps' planned forums, saying only, " I commend others for

their interest in attending additional forums. "

 

And there was some confusion over just how " official " the Copps-organized

hearings could be. Powell said the law invested the power to call official

hearings in the chairman.

 

" The only thing official about it is that Mike (Copps) and probably his staff

and others are going to have a hearing, " Powell told The Hollywood Reporter when

asked about the announcement.

 

 

 

" In my opinion there is nothing official about it to the extent that the

commission has decided (to conduct hearings). In fact, I had no knowledge that

they had planned that until I saw the announcement, " Powell said. " To the extent

of what constitutes an official hearing, I think we should be clear, that that's

an announcement from a single office of its desire to hold a hearing, which I

think is fine, but to say the entire institution is sponsoring that, I think

that's pretty grossly inaccurate. "

Powell said that Copps was within his power to conduct a hearing.

" I think they were trying to draw a distinction between the academic-sponsored

ones and ones in which he's going to build them around, " Powell said. " It's an

attempt to distinguish between the two. "

Powell said the only official field hearing the FCC plans is one in Richmond,

Va. scheduled for later this month.

Craig Linder is a reporter for States News Service.

More entertainment industry news at The Hollywood Reporter Online

 

 

 

 

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