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Kerry Leads New Communications & Tech Subcommittee

Senator Has Been Critical Of Media Consolidation, Fairness Doctrine's Demise

John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 2/12/2009 11:59:00 AM

As expected, Senate Commerce Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller has created a new Communications and Technology Subcommittee, and had named frequent media critic John Kerry (D-Mass.) to head it up.
The ranking member on the committee will be John Ensign (R-Nev,)
Rockefeller at one time was expected to head up the subcommittee, but when committee chairman Daniel Inouye decided to move to Appropriations, Rockefeller took that spot.
Kerry would likely not have been the media's top pick for oversight of their industry.
Kerry is on the record as critical of the demise of the FCC's fairness doctrine, calling that demise one of the "most profound changes in the balance of the media," he said in a 2007 radio interview, adding that conservatives have been able to "squeeze down and squeeze out opinion of opposing views. I think it has been a very important transition in the imbalance of our public dialog."
He also has been critical of media consolidation and pushed the FCC to allow unlicensed devices in TV white spaces, something broadcasters fought hard against.
Kerry teamed with then-Senator Barack Obama to try and block the FCC's relaxation of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban.
Kerry is also a fan of codifying network neutrality principles, something cable and phone networks would prefer evolved along with their industry.

Kerry is also planning to out a laser-like focus on developing a broadband strategy, which in a commentary for The Hill, he contrasted with the "laissez faire" approach of the Bush administration.
That means higher speeds, public-private partnerships, as well as an open, transparent Internet.

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• Those of us engaged in trying to avail ourselves of the full value of leased access as granted us by Congress will welcome any attention to broadband that will insure we have the 'same type' access as others in cable headends. Maybe Sen. Kerry can get FCC to finally, after stonewalling for months, release the decision on whether or not cable sites can charge to receive our IPTV signals while not charging to receive signals from non-leased programmers. The Leased Access Programmes Association stands prepared to share information with Sen. Kerry on how FCC's Media Bureau and cable spurn the will of Congress.

  
  Charlie Stogner - 2/16/2009 2:52:08 PM EST
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