Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FCC's rebel with a cause: rules for media

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 04 Jan 2003 17:01:57 -0500

FCC's rebel with a cause: rules for media 
By Edmund Sanders
Los Angeles Times

Michael Copps doesn't exactly cut the figure of a political
heavyweight.

He's an old-school Democrat on a Republican-controlled Federal
Communications Commission (FCC). A former history professor, Copps
is so soft-spoken that even admirers say he can come across as a
little dull.

FCC insiders sometimes roll their eyes as Copps - who at 62 is a
generation older than the other commissioners - champions issues
some view as outdated, such as suggesting that the recent
broadcast of a Victoria's Secret fashion show met the government's
definition of indecency.

But beneath the unassuming, grandfatherly exterior, Copps is
emerging as one of the most outspoken and politically savvy
commissioners at the agency, observers say.

He has launched an ambitious challenge to FCC Chairman Michael
Powell on one of Powell's key initiatives, the relaxation of
decades-old rules that restrict who may own broadcasters and how
large they can grow.

Although the biggest battles over media ownership won't occur
until spring, Copps is winning some early skirmishes, at times
outmaneuvering Powell and maintaining a steady pressure to raise
public awareness about the issue.

"This is No. 1 on my list," said Copps, who fears the growing
consolidation of broadcast and other media companies will stifle
viewpoints and give a handful of corporations vast power over what
Americans watch, hear and read. "I'm determined to have a
conversation with this country on these issues before we pass a
vote, and I'm going to do everything I can to make that happen."

Copps' strategy so far has been to slow down the FCC's review of
media-ownership regulations. Powell had earlier promised to wrap
up the proceeding by next spring. Today, that timetable is
questionable.

Copps first pushed the agency to extend a public-comment period by
30 days. Then he demanded the FCC host a public hearing about the
rules, even though Powell and his aides had dismissed that idea as
a waste of time and money and an exercise in "foot-stomping."

The standoff was won after Copps announced that if Powell refused
to convene a formal hearing, he would organize his own makeshift
one.

Faced with the prospect of appearing to be uninterested in the
public's views, Powell relented and called a hearing for February.

Such tactics have gained Copps notice, inside and outside the
agency.

"He was very much an unknown," said Gene Kimmelman, co-director of
Consumers Union, one of several advocacy groups that oppose the
relaxation of media ownership rules.

"But he's flown in below the radar screen and shown himself to be
very effective and very adept."

Reed Hundt, a telecommunications consultant and the former
Democratic chairman of the FCC, said: "I don't remember any
commissioner ever forcing me to call a hearing I didn't want to
have."

Linking 2 pet issues

In anticipation of the February hearing, Copps is attempting to
spur public support by linking his two pet issues: media
consolidation and indecency on television and radio.

He has argued that media consolidation and corporate ownership of
television and radio stations have accelerated the "race to the
bottom" in offering sex and violence.

Suddenly, his keen interest in maintaining decency doesn't look so
old-fashioned, experts say.

If Copps can successfully tap into community outrage over
profanity and sex on television and redirect their anger at media
consolidation, Powell may find more public resistance than he
expected, analysts and industry officials say.

"He's pretty crafty in the way he's going about this," one media
lobbyist said of Copps. "He's a seasoned political operative and
he's keeping the pressure on Powell."

Copps has hit the road, speaking about the issue to lawmakers,
religious groups, unions and newspaper editorial boards, an
unusually aggressive strategy for a commissioner.

At the recent annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, Copps
chatted up Walter Cronkite and urged the veteran anchorman to
speak out against media consolidation.

Although critics accuse Copps of trying to delay - or halt - a
vote, he denies this. "I'm saying we need to get the facts. I have
a lot of questions."

Powell declined to comment.

Powell's media adviser, Susan Eid, said the chairman welcomes the
chance to gather public opinion at a hearing, though she noted
that the agency hears from the public on a daily basis. Interested
parties can submit comments to the FCC until Feb. 3.

In the eyes of Powell and others, the broadcast restrictions -
some of which are more than 30 years old - need to be updated to
reflect the growth of cable television and the Internet.

In the past two years, a federal appeals court has thrown out
several of the rules, questioning whether they still serve the
public interest.

Last week, a coalition of consumer groups released a report
warning that a relaxation of media-ownership rules would spur a
wave of harmful consolidation. The report, by the Consumer
Federation of America, predicted mergers between newspapers and TV
stations would reduce each sector's independence, stifling diverse
viewpoints.

Tribune Co., parent of the Los Angeles Times and KTLA-TV in Los
Angeles, has been a leading critic of the media-ownership rules,
particularly one that prohibits control of newspapers and
television stations in the same market. Also pushing for
relaxation of the rules are Viacom and News Corp.

'I love politics'

Though a relative newcomer to the FCC, Copps is a longtime
Washington insider. A Wisconsin native, he grew up as a Republican
until the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy drew him to the
Democratic Party.

After getting a doctorate in history and teaching at Loyola
University in New Orleans, he persuaded his fiancée to move to
Washington. "I always had this little bug that said I should go to
Washington at some point and get politics out of my system," he
said.

Copps figured he'd stay in the capital "for a couple of years." He
never left.

In 1970, he joined the staff of Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., and
eventually became chief of staff for the powerful legislator, who
helped Copps win his FCC appointment last year.

"He's smart as all get out," Hollings said. "He'll make Powell
stop, look and listen."

In the mid-1980s, Copps left public service to work as a lobbyist
for Collins & Aikman, a manufacturing company, and the American
Meat Institute.

With the election of President Clinton, he joined the Commerce
Department, where he remained for seven years, advocating for U.S.
businesses on trade issues abroad.

Copps is a Catholic, and he and his wife have five children, the
youngest of whom is 14. He said his concerns about indecency on
television and radio stem partly from his role as a parent.

The only nonlawyer on the commission, Copps has more government
service under his belt than do all of his fellow Republican
commissioners combined, and he's proving adept at using the bully
pulpit to his advantage. The big test will come when the issue of
media ownership is put before the commission next year. Copps
calls it the "High Noon showdown."

Though he downplays his political skills, saying he lacks the gut
instincts of a real pro, Copps admits he relishes the process.

"I love politics," said Copps, whose office is decorated with
presidential campaign posters dating back to Teddy Roosevelt.
"I've been around town for a while. I'd like to think that's an
advantage. ... But we'll see how many votes I can carry."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134600861_copps22.html

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