Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FCC Chairman Michael Powell says despite criticism, he's staying

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2003 20:45:20 -0400

FCC Chairman Michael Powell  says despite criticism, he's staying
 
DAVID HO, 
Associated Press Writer
Monday, August 4, 2003 

WASHINGTON (AP)

Soon after joining the Federal Communications Commission, Michael Powell said one
of his mottos would be: "Fight with ideas and not emotion." 

His efforts to ease rules governing media ownership are prompting plenty of
emotional debate -- and lots of criticism of Powell. So much that Powell met with
top aides after returning from vacation Monday and assured them he won't quit. 

"The chairman is aware of the speculation in the press and industry about his
future," said Jonathan Cody, Powell's special policy adviser. Powell "assured
senior staff that it is his firm intention to continue to lead the commission and
implement our agenda." 

Powell, a champion of deregulation who critics say is too pro-big business, rose
from commissioner to chairman when President Bush took office in 2001. His term
isn't over until 2007. 

Powell succeeded in getting his Republican-dominated FCC to ease decades-old rules
governing ownership of newspapers and television and radio stations. The
party-line vote on June 2 approved changes that allow individual companies to own
TV stations reaching nearly half the nation's viewers and combinations of
newspapers and broadcast outlets in the same community. 

The vote has become a magnet for those concerned that a few large companies
control too much of the news and entertainment people see, hear and read. 

Small broadcasters complained about network domination of local television. The
National Rifle Association warned media giants would impose liberal views.
Consumer advocates predicted squelched diversity. 

Lawmakers from both parties are pushing to roll back some or all the FCC changes,
a fight expected to heat up when Congress returns from its August recess. 

That opposition has put the spotlight on Powell. 

"He's in trouble," said Gene Kimmelman, public policy director for Consumers
Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. "He's demonstrated he doesn't have
a clear sense of the politics on Capitol Hill. He's out of touch with what
Congress was trying to do in establishing media ownership limits and out of touch
with what the American people expect them to deliver." 

Powell has defended his long-held position that media consolidation doesn't
necessarily harm diversity, arguing there is more variety in the nation's media
landscape than ever before. 

Cody said Powell is looking beyond the media ownership debate and "is energized to
get on to the rest of the agenda." The commission this fall will return to dealing
with the nation's adoption of digital and wireless technology, one of Powell's
favorite issues, Cody said. 

Powell, 40, is the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell. Low-key like his
father, his first two years as FCC chairman were relatively free of turmoil. 

That changed in February when fellow Republican Kevin Martin joined the two
Democratic commissioners in a vote involving the leasing of telephone networks. 

That 3-2 vote retained rules requiring regional Bell companies to lease parts of
their local networks at discount rates to competitors such as AT&T Corp. Powell
and the Bells wanted the rules eliminated. 

Powell's relationships with Democrats Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps have
been strained. The Democrats were particularly upset when Powell rejected their
repeated requests to delay the media ownership vote to allow more public comment. 

The government adopted the ownership rules between 1941 and 1975 to encourage
competition and prevent monopoly control of the media. In 1996, Congress required
the FCC to review the rules every two years and repeal or modify any regulation
determined no longer in the public interest. 

Earlier proposed changes were sent back to the FCC after court challenges brought
by media companies. 

Powell did "exactly what the courts and Congress told him he had to do -- come up
with rules that more accurately reflect a diverse, 21st century marketplace," said
Ken Johnson, spokesman for Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., chairman of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee. Tauzin is one of Powell's biggest supporters in Congress. 

Many in Congress feel differently. 

The House dealt Powell a surprising setback last month when it passed a spending
bill that included a provision preventing a single company from owning enough
television stations to reach more than 35 percent of the nation's viewers. Before
the vote, the White House threatened to veto any final bill that contains language
rolling back the TV ownership cap from the 45 percent level set by the FCC. 

Republicans who support the changes are hoping the veto threat will help them
strip the provision from a final House-Senate compromise bill this fall. 

Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., who are leading a group of
senators trying to undo all the FCC changes, say they oppose Powell's position on
media ownership, but have no problem with him personally or as chairman. 

"The most important relationship is the relationship with the White House," said
Blair Levin, a former FCC official who is an analyst with the Legg Mason
investment firm. "If they lose confidence in him, then he has to go. But I
certainly see no signs that that's the case." 

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/6456574.htm

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