According to Variety, FCC Chair Michael Powell has agreed to appear at a public forum on media ownership being held at Columbia Law School on Jan 16. Originally only FCC Commissioner Michael Copps had agreed to attend this forum, while Powell only grudgingly gave in to holding one public forum on the issue in Richmond Va. Copps has also agreed to attend a similar forum in LA, and has stated a willingness to attend others.
Powell, on the other hand, had stated earlier that there was no need for any public forum on the issue of media ownership rules, and also cited cost and time considerations as reasons why the commission shouldn’t hold them. Apparently the growing public pressure and concern about the threat of the FCC lifting ownership restrictions is having some affect on Powell.
Or maybe he’s just enjoying his New Year and making some undisclosed resolutions to be less of a shallow, tunnel-visioned industry whore. How else to explain Powell’s recent comments that his new Tivo is “God’s machine,” and that he’d love to send recorded TV shows to his sister, despite the fact that the Digital Millenium Copyright Act makes this illegal.
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