Discord at FCC Stalling Debate

Crafting new rules on how many broadcast stations and newspapers one company can own is not going to be easy, since federal regulators can’t even agree on how to get started.

The Federal Communications Commission was slated to discuss a rewrite of ownership rules at its monthly public meeting Thursday, but the issue was pulled from the agenda at the last minute. A set of rules issued in 2003 was rejected by the courts.

FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said there were disagreements among the agency’s four commissioners about the kind of public input that would be sought in writing new rules.

“The commission was trying to move very aggressively in restarting the proceeding,” Martin said. “We’ll be able to try to get something out as soon as we’re able to reach any kind of compromise.”

Martin gave no timetable on when the commission might revisit the issue, and few expect it to happen anytime soon.

The five-member commission has an open seat and is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. So anything that may be controversial probably won’t get the required votes to pass the panel until a new commissioner is appointed.

“What happened today is the first really strong sign of what’s to come until we get a third Republican commissioner in there,” said Christopher Stern, an analyst at Medley Global Advisors, a New York-based financial research firm.

Some of the questions to be resolved before work on new rules begins include how many public hearings the commission would hold and how much money would be spent on independent studies.

Both Democrats on the panel said they would continue to press for public involvement.

“We need to make sure the public has sufficient time to comment on this incredibly complex issue,” Democratic Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein said.

After two years of study and a contentious 3-2 vote, the commission issued sweeping new ownership rules in June 2003. The day before the rules were to take effect, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia blocked them.

The appeals court later rejected many of the rules, saying the FCC did not provide sufficient justification for them. It also rebuked the agency for providing inadequate time for public comment on the formula the FCC used to devise the rules.

The Supreme Court last month declined to intervene on appeals from broadcast and newspaper groups.

The rules at issue would have allowed a single company to own television stations and a newspaper in the same area, and to own more TV and radio stations in a single market.

Although many media companies supported the changes, the rules set off a firestorm of criticism from lawmakers in both parties as well as public interest groups, small radio stations and others.