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from: TV Week

Former FCC Head Powell Responds to Report Flap

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said he knows nothing about the quashing of an agency study that would have undercut his push to loosen media ownership rules.

The 2004 study, unveiled by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., at a Senate hearing Tuesday, was produced under Mr. Powell as part of the FCC’s look into how media-ownership affects television news programming.

from: Broadcasting & Cable

FCC's Martin Talks To Wall Street

By John Eggerton
Broadcasting & Cable, 9/14/2006 5:59:00 PM

The FCC hopes to wrap up an proceeding on video franchise reform by the end of the year, Chairman Kevin Martin told analysts in a conference call Thursday.

from: Broadcasting & Cable

Officials Ordered FCC Report Destroyed, Says Ex-Staffer

By John Eggerton
Broadcasting & Cable, 9/14/2006 5:05:00 PM

Adam Candeub, a former lawyer with the FCC's Media Bureau, is alleging that senior FCC officials ordered all copies of a localism report drafted by the FCC in 2004 to be destroyed. Candeub is now a professor at Michigan State University.

from Free Press Sept.12, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Craig Aaron, Free Press, (202) 265-1490, x25

FCC Ignores America's Broadband Woes

New Report Shows U.S. Falling Behind Rest of World in High-Speed Internet Access, as Digital Divide Persists at Home

Misleading FCC Data Masks Slow Speeds, High Prices and No Competition for Broadband Service

WASHINGTON -- The United States continues to lag behind the rest of the world in accessible and affordable broadband service, with no signs of closing the digital divide at home, according to a new report released today by Free Press, the Consumer Federation of America and Consumers Union.

July 13, 2006
For Immediate Release

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, President and CEO of the Media Access Project, issued the following statement in reaction to today's FCC approval of the Adelphia sale:

The Commission’s conditional approval of the sale of Adelphia’s cable systems represents a significant accomplishment for the media reform community. Viewed in light of the initial predictions that this transaction would receive prompt and complete approval, the FCC has actually looked long and hard at the issues and imposed significant conditions on the deal.

from: Reed Business Information

FCC Approves Adelphia Merger

By Ted Hearn & Mike Farrell

7/13/2006 3:26:00 PM

The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-1 Thursday to approve the $16.9 billion acquisition of Adelphia Communications by Time Warner Inc. and Comcast, removing the last regulatory hurdle facing the deal.

Democratic commissioner Jonathan Adelstein partially dissented, but the agency counts the split vote as a vote in favor of the deal.

from: Broadcasting & Cable

Breaking News
FCC Meeting Delay Continues...and Continues
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/13/2006 12:20:00 AM

The FCC has delayed the start of the meeting in which it was expected to approve the Adelphia breakup between Comcast and Time Warner.

The meeting was initially scheduled to start at 9:30, but by 10:15, FCC sources were saying the comm missioners were still in a meeting and that it could start as late as 11 or 11:30. The FCC confirmed the latter start time in an e-mail. No word on what the hold-up was, but at 11:45, there was still no sign of the commissioners in the meeting room.

Note: If anyone has seen the FCC, please call Washington. In the meanwhile, send them our letter about the Adelphia merger.

from: Broadcasting & Cable

Breaking News
FCC Meeting Delay Continues...and Continues

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable,
7/13/2006 12:20:00 AM

The FCC has delayed the start of the meeting in which it was expected to approve the Adelphia breakup between Comcast and Time Warner.

from: IndyWeek

POSTED ON JULY 12, 2006:

Don't be nice
Media consolidation is back on the agenda at the FCC

By Fiona Morgan

I've been having this strong feeling of déjà vu lately. Three years ago, the Federal Communications Commission set out to deregulate media ownership and met with the protests of 3 million people. A federal court stopped the FCC in its tracks, just as Congress was voting to halt the commission's new rules.

from: Washington Post

FCC poised to approve Adelphia sale to rivals

By Jeremy Pelofsky
Reuters
Thursday, July 13, 2006; 2:09 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is set on Thursday to approve the sale of bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. to rival cable operators Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. despite objections from consumer advocates.