The New York Times

Facing Criticism, the F.C.C. Is Thinking Local

BY JACQUES STEINBERG
August 21st, 2003

With his bid to ease media ownership rules under assault from members of Congress worried by the prospect of greater consolidation, Michael K. Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said yesterday that he would create a task force to study the ''localism'' of radio and television stations.

Mr. Powell said that the panel, which will begin meeting next month, would seek to answer such questions as how many hours stations already devote to local issues and ''what was the nature and the quality of that local news,'' with a goal of increasing such coverage.

In a related move, he said the F.C.C. would expedite the approval of hundreds of applications from churches, community groups, schools and other nonprofit organizations seeking permission to operate low-power FM stations. According to the commission, there are about 220 such stations, each limited to no more than 100 watts and reaching only a few miles.

The commission said it had already granted construction permits to 530 additional low-power stations, which is the first step in the licensing. It has yet to take action on the applications of more than 1,200 others.

But the initiatives, announced by Mr. Powell at a news conference that he convened at the commission's headquarters in Washington, did little to sway opponents of the F.C.C.'s decision to ease the rules on media ownership.

''This proposal is a day late and a dollar short,'' Michael J. Copps, a commissioner who has been an outspoken opponent of Mr. Powell's efforts, said in a statement. ''We should have vetted these issues before we voted.''

The commission and lawmakers have received hundreds of thousands of complaints since June, after the F.C.C.'s 3-to-2 vote to make it easier for media companies to buy more television stations and to own multiple newspapers and TV stations in the same market.

In response to those complaints, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly last month to block a commission rule that would permit a single company to own TV stations that reach 45 percent of the nation's households. Under the previous rule, a company's stations were allowed to reach 35 percent.

Because a similar measure has strong support in the Senate, the issue will probably reach the desk of President Bush. The administration has generally supported Mr. Powell's efforts but would have to decide whether to veto any Congressional action.

While acknowledging that there was ''a deep-seated anxiety in the American public about a commitment to local values and local communities,'' Mr. Powell did not waver yesterday in his support of the new regulations. He said that the task force, with its examination of the local performance of television stations, would be proceeding on a separate track than the effort to ease ownership rules.

''We heard the voice of public concern loud and clear,'' Mr. Powell said, ''that localism remains a core concern of our public, and thus, I think it is time the commission address it head on.''

He said the task force would make recommendations to the commission, as well as to Congress, on ''how the commission can promote localism in television and radio.''

Nonetheless, he said that he remained skeptical of the notion that ''the only way you can serve a local community is by having a small station in a local community owned by a local owner.''

Senator Byron L. Dorgan, a Democrat from North Dakota and one of the leaders in the Senate seeking repeal of the new ownership regulations, said that Mr. Powell's comments yesterday had failed to persuade him of the commission's sensitivity to local concerns.

''It is a very curious strategy for the chairman to change the rules in a way that will dramatically damage localism and then, nearly three months later, propose a process to examine how those rules might affect localism,'' Mr. Dorgan said in a statement.

Executives at several of the broadcast networks, while welcoming Mr. Powell's inquiry, said they were confident he would find that their stations are sensitive to the needs of viewers on local matters.

''To suggest that a station aligned with a network is less in touch with its community is mistaken,'' said Linda Sullivan, the president and general manager of KNTV in San Jose, which is owned by NBC. ''Building and fostering that viewer relationship is our daily focus.''

For supporters of low-power radio, whose efforts at expansion have been opposed by some of the nation's biggest broadcasters, Mr. Powell's remarks were greeted with cautious optimism.

''We have low-power FM's that have been waiting three years to hear from the F.C.C., without so much as a postcard,'' said Pete Tridish, technical director for the Prometheus Radio Project, a Philadelphia group that builds such stations and advocates on their behalf. ''This is a very small step in the right direction.''

Mr. Powell has repeatedly defended the ownership regulations as balanced, and affording ample protections for a diversity of viewpoints in an era in which some viewers can choose among more than 500 cable channels.

Mr. Powell said at several points in the news conference that he did not view the decision to appoint a task force on local concerns to be a political one.

When pressed about the timing of his announcement, in the midst of the Congressional outcry over media consolidation, Mr. Powell said: ''Why now? Because we are constantly working to try to find the best and most constructive way to serve our public.''

CAPTIONS: Photos: Michael K. Powell, Federal Communications Commission chairman, said a new panel would study ''localism'' of radio and TV. (Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times)(pg. C1); Michael K. Powell held a press conference yesterday to say that the F.C.C. would speed up approval of applications to run low-power radio stations. (Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times)(pg. C5)