FCC: 2007 - Latest NewsOct. 24, 2007 -- Legal Center Sends Letter to FCC Chairman Martin Regarding GAO Leaks
In a letter to FCC Chairman Martin, the Campaign Legal Center expressed its concern about a recent report from the Government Accountability Office which found that a select group receives non-public information that gives them an unfair advantage in the FCC rulemaking process. The letter also points out that the GAO report is another example of the Sunshine Act being ignored.
To read the full letter, click here.
Aug. 15, 2007 -- 28 Groups Tell FCC That Digital TV Rules Lack Public Benefit Over the past 12 years, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has repeatedly failed to redefine broadcasters' public interest obligations in light of the nation's ongoing transition to digital television, a coalition of 28 groups said in a filing at the FCC today. The groups echoed the warnings of FCC Commissioner Michael Copps that this "record of inaction" may "go down . . . as the Commission's major failing in its efforts to move the digital transition forward."
To read the full letter, click here.
June 26, 2007 -- Legal Center Debunks Broadcaster Claims, Urges Support for Media Voucher System In a letter today to the Senate Rules Committee, the Campaign Legal Center urged further hearings on a media voucher system for federal candidates. The letter refuted a variety of claims made to the Committee by the National Association of Broadcasters relating to public interest obligations, profit margins and even Supreme Court precedent.
To read the full letter, click here.
June 12, 2007 -- New Study Outlines Deficient Government Coverage by Broadcasters; Reformers Urge FCC to Act We just wanted to be sure you were aware of the release today of the attached study on the glaring deficiency of federal, state and local government coverage by Midwestern broadcasters and a letter urging the FCC to hold broadcasters accountable to their Public Interest Obligations.
Midwest Reform Groups Call on FCC to Hold TV Broadcasters Accountable for Inadequate Election and Government Coverage
CHICAGO - An alliance of Midwest civic and political reform groups is calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to impose stronger public interest obligations on local television broadcasters as part of the new regulatory framework that will govern the pending transition from analog to digital broadcasting.
To view the full release, click here.
Apr. 23, 2007 -- Groups Urge FCC to Vote Against Expanded Must Carry Rules Today, the Campaign Legal Center and Common Cause sent a letter to FCC Commissionerss urging them to vote against expanded must carry rules until the FCC has finalized public interest obligations for digital broadcasters.
To read the full letter, click here.
Mar. 27, 2007 -- Public Benefit Still Missing From Digital TV Transition
Today, the Campaign Legal Center, the Benton Foundation and the Center for American Progress called on Congress and the FCC to require more than lip service from broadcasters on their obligations to the public. In a letter delivered to House Commerce and Energy Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-MA) the organizations detailed the outstanding issues and unfinished business raised in Federal Communications Commission proceedings concerning the transition to digital television. The Subcommittee holds a hearing on the Status of the Digital Television Transition, which is to be completed in less than 700 days, on Wednesday morning.
Last month, during a FCC oversight hearing held by the same subcommittee, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, responding to questions from Subcommittee Chairman Markey, suggested that the Commission has already addressed a number of questions raised in a 1999 Notice of Inquiry on possible new public interest obligations for digital television stations, noting an extension of analog public interest obligations to digital TV.
In their letter, Legal Center Policy Director Meredith McGehee and Benton Chairman Charles Benton point out that since 1995, the Commission has realized that the greater capabilities afforded by digital technology could affect broadcasters' obligations to serve the public interest and asked for public comment on how those obligations might be adapted to the digital context.
In addition, an open proceeding launched in 1999 still has not addressed the obligations of broadcasters to disclose their public interest activities, enhance political discourse, enhance access to the media by all people, and meet minimum public interest obligations for the digital age.
"Digital television, with its capacity for multicasting, provides an opportunity for broadcasters to better meet citizen needs for public information because it can provide more information on more simultaneous channels," said Charles Benton. "As we transition to digital, policymakers have an opportunity to reinforce our democracy by establishing meaningful public interest obligations for digital broadcasters that can keep the public informed, the electorate engaged, and our democracy intact."
"The notion advanced by Chairman Martin that the FCC has essentially completed action on public interest obligations for digital broadcasting is both farcical on its face and scary in its implications for public policy," said McGehee. "Rather than ignoring citizens and maximizing profits for broadcasters who use the publicly owned airwaves free of charge, Chairman Martin should take advantage of transition from analog to digital to reinvigorate meaningful public interest obligations that can strengthen our democracy. This is too important an opportunity to be squandered."
About the Benton Foundation
A private foundation since 1981, the Benton Foundation (www.benton.org) works to advance a public interest vision and policy alternatives for the digital age and to demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems. The foundation is based in Washington, DC. From the fall of 1997 to December of 1998, Charles Benton was a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters, whose final report was submitted to Vice President Al Gore on December 18, 1998. In 2005-06, Benton also served on the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee. In November 2005, the CAC recommended that the FCC complete its digital television/public interest obligations proceedings by May 2006.
About Campaign Legal Center
The Campaign Legal Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which works in the areas of campaign finance, communications and government ethics. We represent the public interest in administrative and legal proceedings where the nation's campaign finance and related media laws are enforced: at the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and in the courts. In the area of media law, the Legal Center shapes political broadcasting policy by promoting awareness and enforcement of political broadcasting laws through Federal Communication Commission rulemaking proceedings, Congressional action, and public education.
To read the full letter, click here.
Feb. 9, 2007 -- House Subcommittee Asked to Demand Answers from FCC at Oversight Hearing: Letter from Benton Foundation and Campaign Legal Center Members of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet are being urged to demand answers from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the lack of digital public interest obligations more than a decade after the process began.
To read the full letter, click here.
Feb. 7, 2007 -- Extend "Stand by Your Ad Provision" to the Internet: Statement of Meredith McGehee, Campaign Legal Center Policy Director The Responsible Campaign Communications Act of 2007, introduced today, would extend the "Stand by Your Ad" provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) to Internet ads and "robo-calls" paid for by candidates and political committees.
To read the full statement, click here.
Jan. 31, 2007 -- Senate Committee Urged to Call Out FCC on Public Interest Obligations: Letter from Meredith McGehee, Campaign Legal Center Policy Director With Federal Communications Commissioners schedule to testify tomorrow, the Campaign Legal Center sent a letter asking Members of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee to demand answers for the Commission's continued failure to implement digital public interest obligations after six years. All five Commissioners are scheduled to appear before the full Committee on Thursday, February 1 at 10 a.m. in Room 253 of the Senate Russell Office Building.
To read the full letter, click here.
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