Final FCC Media Rules Expected Monday

By: David Ho, Associated Press Writer (AP) Final versions of rules governing media ownership and phone competition will probably be released on Monday, FCC Chairman Michael Powell said.

The Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission eased decades-old restrictions on ownership of newspapers and television and radio stations on June 2 with a 3-2 party-line vote. The release of the finished media rules is expected to trigger a response from lawmakers who have vowed to fight the measures with a variety of congressional actions.

Powell said Wednesday that if Congress wants to change the way the FCC reviews media ownership, "I don't have any problem with that." He said the FCC acted based on existing laws and court decisions.

"I don't think you could have produced a result much differently," Powell told reporters.

The FCC decision allowed individual companies to own television stations reaching nearly half the nation's viewers and combinations of newspapers and broadcast stations in the same city.

Critics say the new rules will lead to mergers that could put a few giant companies in control of what most people see, hear, and read.

Many media companies said the changes were needed because the old restrictions hindered their ability to grow and compete in a market changed by cable TV, satellite broadcasts, and the Internet.

Last Thursday, the Senate Commerce Committee voted for a bill that would overturn the FCC changes. While passed by a bipartisan majority, the bill faces an uncertain future in the full Senate and strong resistance in the House.

Lawmakers, including Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., have said that after the FCC releases the finished rules, they will introduce a little-used "resolution of disapproval" to reverse the FCC decision. That measure would need majority approval in the Senate and House and the president's signature.

Release of the FCC rules could still be delayed if commissioners seek to add comments.

The telecommunications industry has been waiting for months for the final phone competition rules.

On Feb. 20, the FCC decided 3-2 to retain 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. But Republican commissioner Kevin Martin allied with the FCC's two Democrats to shift authority over the requirements from the federal government to the states.

The decision also eased requirements that the Bells provide rivals discount access to fiber-optic lines for high-speed Internet service.

Powell, speaking at a lunch for the Federal Communications Bar Association, joked about the controversy and criticism surrounding the commission's recent decisions.

Powell, son of Secretary of State Colin Powell, said being the head of the FCC is "the only job in Washington my dad thinks is harder than his."