FCC gets into the act
Going boldly where everyone has gone before, the Federal Communications Commission has launched an investigation into the future of news. Yesterday the FCC issued an 11-page request for information about the state of the news business and announced it plans to examine the current state of the news industry, industry trends and what the agency could do to change its current rules.
This comes just a month after the Federal Trade Commission held hearings on the news industry, and follows congressional hearings on the issue.
Should the government mess with a pretty good idea that has recently turned bad for U.S. newspaper publishers?
“The government should stay out journalism,” Republican FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker told media and telecom lawyers at the Media Institute in Washington yesterday. Commissioner Baker said she worries about significant First Amendment issues.
“Market gaps are not necessarily market failures requiring government intervention,” she said. “As journalists search for their future identity, I urge that we leave journalists largely to their own devices to find a new sustainable commercial foundation.”
Changes in public policy may be at hand. The FCC has limited authority over newspapers. Its rules have barred companies from owning both a leading newspaper and TV station in the same market. The commission seeks to loosen cross ownership rules, but the case is stalled in federal appeals court.
In a press release, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the agency now wants to understand the “fundamental changes” in the media industry and examine “what impact such changes may have for (FCC) policies.” He said the initiative “will not include any effort to control the editorial content of any type of media.”
The FCC has launched a Web site and blog, and sent a tweet asking people to “read the blog, share stories & submit ideas to improve media.”
Aside from further regulations on TV and radio stations, its not clear what the FCC or the Obama administration could require of newspapers or Internet news sites. The FCC’s efforts to assert authority over Internet lines — the Net Neutrality issue — has been challenged .
