UPTON, HOLLINGS HIGHLIGHT DIFFERENCES IN BROADCAST REGULATION

Upton said he would seek to eliminate “long outdated” newspaper/broadcast industry cross-ownership restrictions since there was an “incredibly competitive marketplace, augmented by many new sources of news through cable and the Internet.” However, Hollings said that if Congress lifted ownership caps, “gone will be regular over-the-air broadcasting as we know it.” He said lifting ownership restrictions would have negative impact on diversity in and local control of programming. “There’s a fever afloat in Washington to deregulate, deregulate, deregulate,” and that has led to industry consolidation to detriment of consumers in sectors including airline and trucking industries, Hollings said: “It’s time you all learned a lesson.”

Upton and Hollings both decried gratuitous violence on TV, but differed on how to address it. Upton said he wasn’t “suggesting a heavy-handed government role,” but recommended that govt. keep an close eye on developments in violent entertainment. Hollings recently introduced “safe harbor” legislation that would require FCC to study effectiveness of V-chip and content ratings system and possible mandatory air time with nonviolent programming. Senate Commerce Committee approved similar Hollings legislation 16-1 in 1995, 19-1 in 1997 and 17-1 in 2000.

Upton said Congress and FCC continued to work on policy issues to ensure successful transition to DTV from analog and blasted Bush plan to require lease fees for analog spectrum beyond DTV transition date. “In my view, broadcasters already face enough obstacles in the transition,” he said. “A so-called ’squatter’s tax’ would be piling on. We're going to be throwing the flag on that one.” Hollings didn’t address Bush plan, but advocated must-carry for cable if limited to requiring cable companies to provide one digital broadcast channel rather than up to 6 standard-definition channels, as advocated by other members of Congress.

“I am still quite bullish on digital television,” FCC Chmn. Powell told broadcasters. “I continue to be excited about it,” he said, pointing out that “sometimes I think the hope is what is wrong” in transition to digital, which has led to unaccomplished expectations. He said “the government hand should be slightly less” involved in transition, without saying where he would reduce govt.’s role. NAB Pres. Edward Fritts, who questioned Powell, said earlier that for digital to succeed, “we need 3 simple requirements: (1) There must be a DTV tuner in every set. (2) There must be a requirement that digital TV sets be interoperable with cable. (3) There must be a requirement that the cable gatekeepers carry free digital broadcast channels.”

First Amendment area is “very difficult” one for govt. action or involvement, Powell said, and it’s hard to write rules “with clarity” in that area. As nonelected regulator, “I don’t have a lot of confidence” about imposing his views on others, he said, and FCC majority of “3 of the 5 of us” shouldn’t be establishing rules on First Amendment issues. TV ownership restrictions, he said, are “a continuing challenge” at Commission and in Congress. He said he believed rules were more applicable to diverse ownership, rather than concentration, and that they had “broad implications” on First Amendment issues. Recent Appeals Court ruling rejecting per-subscriber cable ownership limits (CD March 5 p1) “I think does have an impact” of TV rules, Powell said.

Wireless “is hot,” chmn. said, and “ultimately you run the risk that there will be government trade-offs” for spectrum. He urged broadcasters to keep that in mind when making their business plans. Difference in being a commissioner and chmn. (job he has held 6 weeks) Powell said, is that now “I'm the one they yell at if the elevator gets stuck” and he faces “increased political scrutiny.” Commenting on his first open meeting as chmn., at which bureau heads outlined their agendas for future (CD Feb 23 p1), he said “I learned that what we do matters” and that there’s no reason commissioners and staff “can’t share problems in open dialog.” On in-band, on-channel digital radio, Powell said there’s “rightfully a healthy amount of optimism” that new service will succeed.

On FCC staff panel immediately preceding Powell, Mass Media Bureau Chief Roy Stewart said first meeting with new chmn. was “a good exercise” in putting forth staff problems and goals. He said when he became chief in Oct. 1989, Bureau had 400 staffers. Today, it’s down to 210, he said, in reciting backlog of 4,700 LPTV applications, 1,700 for low-power FMs. Of latter applications, he said about 55% will be returned because they don’t meet agency’s requirements. On digital must-carry, Stewart said, “we're trying to get you to come to us” with facts and figures “so we can build a record.” On same issue, Acting Gen. Counsel Jane Mago said court in Time Warner case “told us we've got to build a record.”

Mago said Commission asked Appeals Court to reconsider its declaration that EEO rules were unconstitutional (CD Jan 17 p1) because agency felt court hadn’t given proper “deference” to options in rules. Rules, she said, took “content neutral approach.” Enforcement Bureau Chief David Solomon said Bureau was stepping up enforcement activities in several areas, including technical and unauthorized transfers of control. Despite warnings, “every year there’s still several of them [unauthorized transfers],” he said. Since Bureau is fairly new, he said, “as we get more experienced, we're doing a better job.” With coming of LPFM, he said he expected increase in pirate stations. Despite widely reported charges that TV stations “gouged” public by overcharging candidates (CD March 7 p8), Solomon said FCC hasn’t received any complaints on alleged overcharges.

Fritts said that overcharge complaints are “just plain wrong and the people making them don’t understand the FCC rules.” As for campaign finance reform now before Senate, he said NAB had “never been opposed to reasonable reform, but reform should not mean simply replacing soft money with broadcasters’ money or free air time.”