Democratic FCC commissioner Michael Copps last week charged that FCC Chairman Michael Powell’s refusal to grant a short delay of a vote on media concentration rules “runs roughshod over the requests of the American people and the precedents of this Commission.”
Copps said this “rush to judgment means that we will not fully understand the impact of the specific proposals on our media landscape before we are forced to vote. We are rushing to passage of new rules without letting the American people know who is going to own and control the public airwaves for years to come and without gaining the benefit of their input on what is being proposed.
“This is no way to do business when critical issues affecting every American are at stake,” Copps continued. “I am disappointed that the chairman refuses to heed the calls of colleagues, as well as many members of Congress, to let the sun shine on his proposals before the Commission decides on further media concentration.”
Powell refused to grant a delay, contending the current rules are unenforceable and it is “incumbent on us to repair the shortcomings as quickly as possible.”
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