The Future Will Be Net-Neutral

Q&A With FCC Senior Adviser Steven Waldman

by John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 2/8/2010 11:22:09 AM

Steven Waldman, senior adviser to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, says an open Internet is key to the future of journalism, and particularly the new media that will play a big role in that future.
He says there is no harm, at least theoretically, in the decline and fall of traditional media -- as long as there is something to replace immediate replace those sources in their useful function of delivering news and civic information.
Waldman is charged with coming up with a report to the commission on the state and fate of the media in the midst of radical change. Look for his policy advice, gleaned with the help of part-timers, current staffers and "kibitzers," to show up in everything from the national broadband plan to the ownership-rule review.
He talked with Multichannel News Washington bureau chief John Eggerton about that project.

 


Steven Waldman: Obviously, we are not looking at it as saving any particular company or industry; that is really not our job. We are looking at it in terms of preserving certain functions, in which I do include accountability journalism. So, if all the newspapers and TV stations disappeared tomorrow, in theory that could be fine if they were immediately replaced by something else that would serve the same function for citizens and democracy.

We are looking at it form the point of view of, are certain functions being performed. We fully expect that some of what was being done by newspapers won't be done by newspapers any more. We are neutral on whether that matters. The question is whether or not someone or something is going to perform those functions.

 

MCN: You have talked about there being obvious implications for the future of journalism in the broadband initiative. Have you made any recommendations in the national broadband plan?

SW: Yes, I am working with the broadband team on parts of the report related to the media.

 

MCN: Have you talked to broadcasters and cable operators?

SW: I am just starting to. I have had a couple of meetings with local broadcasters. It will absolutely be a critical part of this. We will probably have some workshops. I know there is a little bit of workshop fatigue so we will try to keep it to a minimum. We will try to spend as much time as possible with broadcasters and other media players to help figure this out.

 

MCN: You said that broadcasters and newspapers could theoretically go away if there were something to immediately take their place. But as a practical matter, that can't happen, can it?

SW: No, I was making the point that I don't think it is the FCC's particular responsibility to save a particular company or even a particular industry. We have to look at broad public interest principles.

 

MCN: Long-term, yes, but short-term, since that is what we have and it is not immediately replaceable, doesn't this have to be looking at how you do help the traditional media?

SW: I don't know yet. Probably. I made the comment as a highly theoretical point to stress that we are not in the business of providing bailouts or encouraging bail outs to particular companies or industries, so we have to look at it from a different perspective. We have to look at it in terms of setting out the basic goals and principles for communities, citizens and democracy.

And, of course, when you do that you naturally end up considering policies that have direct effect on real-life companies living and breathing at that point. So, of course, what we are looking at doing could affect current media players.

 

MCN: You have talked about the open Internet being directly connected to the future of the news media. Do you think network-neutrality rules are necessary to the future of journalism?

SW: Yes, but let me state it in a slightly more abstract way. Having an open Internet absolutely is important to the future of journalism, because if we don't it will check off the innovation that is providing a lot of the best future prospects for journalism.

Suddenly, a lot of the exciting innovations that may be part of the future media landscape could wither. I am not saying citizen journalism is going to be the answer to all problems, but there is a tremendous amount of innovation going on now among former newspaper journalists, citizen journalists and local groups. And if they don't have the ability to get traction in an organic way and find its audience, it is hard to see how this wave of innovation in the last year or so would continue with the same force.

 

MCN: You talked about broadcasting; are you talking to cable operators?

SW: We will be talking to cable operators. On a micro level, we will take a look at the whole [public, education and government] channel regime and how that has worked or not worked over the years.