The new hearings would be an attempt to gather public input about the performance of specific broadcasters. Copps eventually plans to host sessions nationwide, following the FCC timeline for license renewal. California licenses begin expiring in 2005.
Industry lobbyists said such efforts would send the FCC back to the "dark ages" when broadcast license renewals were entangled in legal challenges that sometimes dragged on for years. "It creates a bureaucratic Kabuki dance," said one media lobbyist. "And it's a lawyer's delight."
Broadcasters say there is enough competition in radio and television to ensure that stations will serve the wants and needs of local listeners. Otherwise, they say, listeners will simply change the channel.
Which is complete bullshit. Stations don't serve the wants and needs of local listeners. I read through Arbitron radio diaries at the 2000 NAB Radio convention, and they wanted more local music and news and less commercials. There are no stations people can change the channel to get that.
The article continues:
Copps predicted that he would be able to harness the energies of many of the same organizations that flooded the FCC with more than 500,000 complaints about the relaxed media-ownership rules. "We'll have a lot of the same people at the table," he said.But at least one leading media-consolidation critic plans to stay out of the battle. Andrew Schwartzman, head of Media Access Project, who is suing to overturn the new FCC rules, said license challenges almost always fail before the FCC because the regulations were stacked in favor of broadcasters.
"We tell people that license renewal challenges are a waste of time," Schwartzman said. "You cannot point to a successful renewal challenge brought since 1984."
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