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In 2003, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3 to 2 to allow companies to own more TV stations across the country and to control both a station and a newspaper in the same market. After an outpouring of protest from consumer groups and others, Congress weighed in, undercutting the FCC's action. Separately, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals called the new regulations unjustified and sent them back to the agency for revision. "It was a near-disaster for the United States of America, and we cannot let that happen again," said Commissioner Michael Copps, who, along with the other Democrat on the commission, Jonathan S. Adelstein, had voted against the rules.

JAMES QUELLO AND THE BROADCAST LOBBY
[SOURCE: Digital Destiny, AUTHOR: Jeff Chester]
[Commentary] Former FCC Commissioner James Quello has always been a key part of the broadcast lobby’s political support structure. The long-serving (23 years) commissioner made sure his votes aided his profession -- broadcasting. Mr. Quello never stops working to help out his media industry brethren -- including his latest lobbying missive in this week’s Broadcasting and Cable magazine. Quello urges that broadcasters should be freed from any regulation (what little there’s left, that is, thanks to Quello and others). “Let Broadcasters Be Free,” he proclaims. No rules ensuring diversity of ownership, children’s educational programming, or local accountability are needed. We have the Internet, Quello assure us. Public interest policies can now be jettisoned. But Mr. Quello neglects to disclose in the piece that he is working at the number one lobbying shop for broadcasters: Wiley, Rein, and Fielding. In his piece, he lists his affiliations as “an independent government relations consultant.” But Quello’s been at the Wiley shop since 2001. The Wiley firm (headed by the former FCC chair and super-lobbyist Dick Wiley) has represented such broadcast heavyweights as Belo, Gannett, National Association of Broadcasters, Time Warner, Clear Channel, and CBS (and many others). Mr. Quello’s op-ed is especially meant for Chairman Kevin Martin and the GOP majority. It’s supposed to convey that a person with such long FCC and industry experience -- Mr. Quello -- is giving a high sign to Martin’s plan to scuttle media ownership rules.
http://www.democraticmedia.org/jcblog/?p=93

9/11 MINISERIES IS CRITICIZED AS INACCURATE AND BIASED
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jesse McKinley]
Days before its scheduled debut, the first major television miniseries about the Sept. 11 attacks was being criticized on Tuesday as biased and inaccurate by bloggers, terrorism experts and a member of the Sept. 11 commission, whose report makes up much of the film’s source material. The six-hour miniseries, “The Path to 9/11,” is to be shown on ABC on Sunday and Monday. The network has been advertising the program as a “historic broadcast” that uses the commission’s report on the 2001 attacks as its “primary foundation.” On Tuesday, several liberal blogs were questioning whether ABC’s version was overly critical of the Clinton administration while letting the Bush administration off easy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/06/us/06path.html
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* Controversy Over 9/11 Film Hits Press -- Here Is Sneak Preview
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...

THE FIRST YOUTUBE ELECTION
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] YouTube.com has become a magnet for budding filmmakers, marketers and entertainment industry executives looking for new ways to reach viewers. Now, with the campaign season upon us, political hatchet men are discovering the site too. YouTube offers partisans a nearly irresistible combination: It lets them post videos under pseudonyms, and it stores and plays them for free. In May, a video skewering Al Gore's global warming movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," provided a sample of political things to come. More slick than the typical homemade video, the two-minute bit was posted by someone claiming to be a 29-year-old from Beverly Hills. But the Wall Street Journal traced it to an employee at a Washington lobbying firm whose clients include ExxonMobil Corp. YouTube is also a tempting launch pad for political mischief because it is effectively unregulated by the Federal Election Commission, whose Internet rules apply only to paid political advertising. Videos on YouTube don't have to disclose their source or include an on-air approval from a candidate -- two requirements for political TV and radio spots. But YouTube, like the Internet in general, has a self-correcting quality not found in the broadcast media, where the high price of airtime crimps the public's ability to participate in the debate. Online, everyone's a critic -- and in many cases, an investigator too. The Internet can serve as an important memory bank for gaffes and public lapses that candidates and officials would rather citizens forget. But because it's hard to tell real memories on the site from fake ones, it's important for voters to take what they see there with a grain of salt -- just like everything else they see or hear during the campaign season.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-youtube06sep06,1,...
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