The 'vast wasteland' grows under FCC chief

THE 'VAST WASTELAND' GROWS UNDER FCC CHIEF
[SOURCE: Ventura County Star, AUTHOR: Beverly Kelly]
They don't make them like Newton Minow anymore. Last month, Kevin J. Martin, Federal Communications Commission chairman since 2005, found himself as the bulls-eye concerning a congressional investigation into whether 1) he is abusing his authority and 2) his leadership has led to "a breakdown in proper procedure at the FCC." Not only has the 41-year-old Republican with close ties to the Bush administration been publicly chastised by all four of his fellow commissioners, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have charged that Martin rushes to judgment, suppresses data or employs flawed studies (especially with respect to cable penetration figures), snubs public input and schedules hearings with minimal notice to gain the tactical advantage. The days of Martin, who conveniently fails to remember that the airwaves belong to the people, may be numbered, but I doubt many Americans will miss him. To them, the nearly 50-year-old words of Minow still ring true: "When television is good, nothing -- not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers -- nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse."
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