FCC's Martin plan for low-power TV up in air

The fate of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin's proposal to require cable companies to carry more TV stations that focus on minority programing is in doubt days before a commission vote. Chairman Martin wants to let small, low-power television stations convert to full-power status, and with that get mandated pick-up by cable stations, such as Time Warner Cable and Comcast. The policy change is aimed at boosting the reach of stations serving minority communities, according to Martin, who says 22 percent of the stations that would be affected carry Spanish programing. Cable operators say such a change would illegally impose new burdens on them, violating their First Amendment right to free speech. The five-member FCC is scheduled to vote on the proposed rulemaking at a meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday. A similar plan was pulled earlier this year for lack of consensus among the commissioners. Some skeptics, including the cable industry, say there are no guarantees that the low power stations in question are minority-owned or even serving their local communities because the FCC lacks data. Even the Community Broadcasters Association acknowledges that the FCC lacks good statistics on media ownership diversity.