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Columbia Journalism Review content tagged FCC

1. March 15, 2011 02:44 PM

   As the Revolving Door Turns

   By Ryan Chittum

   The Wall Street Journal reports today that the head of the Federal Housing Administration, David H. Stevens, will become CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Meantime, the Los Angeles Times reports that former Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael "Son of Colin" Powell will become CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. Powell at least waited a few years. Stevens...

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2. June 21, 2012 06:50 AM

   Building a multi-platform media for—and by—the public

   Commercial broadcasters make for bad trustees. Let's find another way

   By Benjamin Lennett and Tom Glaisyer

   At first glance, the new rule approved last month by the Federal Communications Commission requiring local television broadcasters to make public their records on political ad spending might seem revelatory. But in reality, it represents a very modest change to longstanding policy. Broadcasters are required by statute to maintain a file in paper form that documents information about political ads,...

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3. June 9, 2011 11:57 AM

   FCC Report: “The Information Needs of Communities”

   By Joel Meares

   The FCC's eighteen-months-in-the-making Future of Media report—now called "The Information Needs of Communities"—is now out and available below for your perusal. Steve Waldman, the lead author of the report is currently presenting the report at an FCC Open Commission Meeting. The live stream of that presentation is here. If you're looking for a yard stick to measure the report's recommendations...

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4. June 9, 2011 05:37 PM

   Heavy On Problems, Light On Solutions: The FCC Report Has Landed

   A quick look at the "disappointing" recommendations

   By Joel Meares

   In some three hundred and sixty odd pages, the FCC’s long-awaited Future of News “Information Needs of Communities” report outlines the crises facing our industry in excruciating, painstaking detail. Similar detail is lacking in its recommendations on how we dig out. That, at least, is likely to characterize many of the reactions to the whopper report that the FCC...

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5. December 29, 2011 06:53 PM

   Local TV News, Meet the Internet

   Why are broadcasters trying to block political campaign transparency?

   By Steven Waldman

   The FCC has proposed an important rule change that could make the political system more transparent. Amazingly, the trade associations representing the local TV news industry are opposing it. In exchange for being given the broadcast spectrum by taxpayers for free, broadcasters have long been required to fulfill certain “public-interest obligations” to communities. These used to be fairly significant; now...

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6. January 20, 2012 12:11 PM

   Local TV Stations Rally to Oppose Media Transparency

   What exactly are their “public interest obligations”?

   By Steven Waldman

   Local television stations have now rallied in opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s media transparency proposal, which would require broadcasters to move their “public inspection files” out of their filing cabinets and onto the Internet. I described these proposals in detail here and here, but the surprising hostility from TV stations—news organizations—to this transparency plan raises a broader question: Do...

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7. June 13, 2011 02:43 PM

   More Reactions to FCC Report

   Critics split on whether government should do more or less

   By Joel Meares

   The FCC released its staff report, “Information Needs of Communities,” last Thursday and industry and advocacy groups were quick to weigh-in—despite the report being a hefty 475 pages (if you include footnotes). With more time to pore over the report, more reactions are surfacing. Generalizing wildly, thoughts seem to be divided based on expectations (the idealists versus so-called realists), politics...

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8. June 20, 2011 05:43 PM

   Q&A with FCC Report Head Writer Steve Waldman, Part One

   "We actually have to pay attention to this and if we don’t, there are going to be severe consequences."

   By Joel Meares

   Two weeks ago, the FCC released its long-awaited, 365-page report, “The Information Needs of Communities.” The report’s chief writer, Steve Waldman—co-founder of News Corp.’s Beliefnet and a former Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report staffer—has been doing the rounds this week, sounding alarms about the precipitous drop in local accountability reporting outlined in his tome, and selling and...

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9. June 21, 2011 09:45 AM

   Q&A with FCC Report Head Writer Steve Waldman, Part Two

   "Rather than doing it 'once more with feeling,' let’s try something new."

   By Joel Meares

   Two weeks ago, the FCC released its long-awaited, 365-page report, “The Information Needs of Communities.” The report’s chief writer, Steve Waldman—co-founder of News Corp.’s Beliefnet and a former Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report staffer—has been doing the rounds this week, sounding alarms about the precipitous drop in local accountability reporting outlined in his tome, and selling and defending...

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10. October 29, 2010 03:12 PM

    Reboot

    An open letter to the FCC about a media policy for the digital age

    By Steve Coll

    Editor's Note: On June 9, 2011, the FCC's Future of Media Project released a report on the state of local accountability journalism and the governmental policies that foster or inhibit that journalism. In the November/December 2010 issue of CJR, Steve Coll penned this open letter to the report's lead author, Steven Waldman. Steven Waldman Future of Media Project Federal Communications...

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11. October 26, 2012 01:40 PM

    The Ad Wars: a laurel to the Sunlight Foundation

    Report brings scrutiny to new political ad database

    By Sasha Chavkin

    In an important victory for transparency advocates, the Federal Communications Commission recently began requiring broadcasters to post the files of political ad buys online. The new system, which went into effect on Aug. 2, meant that public records of campaign ads would for the first time be available in the same place, bringing fresh hope that murky expenditures on...

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12. December 29, 2011 08:10 PM

    This News Story Is Brought to You By…

    Shouldn’t TV news outlets be clearer about offering pay-for-play?

    By Steven Waldman

    One of the most disturbing trends in local TV news is the persistence of “pay for play”—when local TV newscasts allow sponsors to dictate content. The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a rule that would make it easier for the public to see which stations are engaging in these and other deceptive or ethically dubious practices. The National Association of...

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13. April 27, 2012 03:28 PM

    Two cheers for the FCC

    A vote to put political ad information online is a good start toward more transparency

    By Mike Hoyt

    Update, 6 p.m.: ProPublica's Justin Elliott reports that stations in the top 50 markets will have to start posting files 30 days after the Office of Management and Budget approves the new rule. FCC spokesman Janice Wise said the FCC does not expect OMB approval to take long. Original Story: Will bluebirds sing us awake every morning after Lincoln-Douglas-quality presidential...

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