Ferree to Step Down From FCC

The architect of a Federal Communications Commission plan that would make media mergers easier is expected to leave the agency in March, following in the footsteps of Chairman Michael K. Powell, the agency disclosed Monday.

W. Kenneth Ferree, 44, has been a lightning rod for criticism as the FCC’s media bureau chief by championing looser ownership rules.

Critics said the rules, which drew a record 520,000 written comments, would give too much clout to a few big media giants.

A federal appeals court last year threw out the portion of the rules that would have allowed greater ownership of television and radio stations in the same market. The court, however, said the FCC was within its rights to repeal a prohibition on a company’s owning a newspaper and a television station in the same city.

Ferree also pushed a proposal that would force broadcasters to shift more quickly to digital TV and relinquish $70 billion worth of analog TV airwaves.

He also helped oversee the staff work for such big media deals as News Corp.’s acquisition of a controlling stake in DirecTV Group Inc.

Ferree, an imposing 6-foot-6-inch figure who hunts and rides a motorcycle to work, joined the agency in 2001 after working as a telecommunications lawyer.

He declined to comment.