Kevin Martin is starting to look like he'll be visiting Congress soon, and not about any particular media related bill. Legislators are beginning to look into possible charges that he abuses his power as chair of the Federal Communications Commission. What a shock, someone appointed by the Bush Administration abusing their power, who woulda thunk it?
From The LA Times:
"Given several events and proceedings over the past year, I am rapidly losing confidence that the commission has been conducting its affairs in an appropriate manner," Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote to FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin.
Dingell said he was concerned that the FCC had not made the full text of proposed rules available to the public before it voted on them, and that Martin often had not given other commissioners details of proposals until it was too late for them to fully analyze them.
Martin, a Republican, has faced criticism from lawmakers and fellow commissioners recently for how he has approached the contentious issues of re-regulating the cable TV industry and easing rules on the ownership of newspaper and TV stations in the same city.
Martin is going to start squirming. For several years the Republican leadership abdicated it's responsibility to hold Federal agencies accountable for their actions. Not surprisingly, rampant corruption and abuses of power ensued.
As for Martin, being the head of the FCC allowed his buddies in the telecommunication and media industries to take advantage of the public by consolidating and having much more freedom to restrict the flow of information. In turn, companies can own multiple television stations, newspapers and for telecoms, increase their share of cable and broadband users by being one of two or three companies in a market. In New York, the only places to get internet is Verizon and Time Warner. So these companies can charge whatever they want. In the age where the digital divide is increasing, these practices restrict information to the wealthier among us and hurt America as a whole.
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