PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 07-3740 Released: September 5, 2007 FCC’S MEDIA BUREAU ADOPTS PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC ACCESS TO DATA SETS UNDERLYING ECONOMIC STUDIES FOR 2006 QUADRENNIAL REGULATORY REVIEW OF COMMISSION’S MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES MB Docket No. 06-121 (MB Docket No. 02-277, MM Docket Nos. 01-235, 01-317, 00-244) The Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau today established procedures for public review of the proprietary portions of data sets created by the authors of the media studies commissioned in connection with the ongoing quadrennial review proceeding examining media ownership rules. A number of the authors of the media studies commissioned by the FCC created aggregated data sets using proprietary information licensed to the author and/or the author’s employer. Beginning on Thursday, September 6, 2007, the author-created data sets, 1 as well as any programming software and programming code the authors used,2 will be made available for review and inspection by interested parties consistent with procedures contained in a Protective Order released today by the Media Bureau.3 The procedures established in that order track the manner in which the public was given access to proprietary information in the 2002 Biennial Review media ownership proceeding. Parties also may 1 The data sets used in Study 6, The Effects of Cross-Ownership on the Local Content and Political Slant of Local Television News (Author: Jeffrey Milyo, Center for Applied Economics, University of Kansas, School of Business; Department of Economics and Truman School of Public Affairs, University of Missouri), are currently available via the Commission’s website. In addition, DVD copies of the video clips used in Study 6 will be available for viewing at FCC headquarters upon request, and will be subject to the terms of the Protective Order. In addition, certain financial data provided by Standard and Poor's (“S&P”) relating to radio companies is not being made available due to disclosure restrictions. Accordingly, the author-created data set that incorporated S&P data has been redacted. 2 The Commission will make all reasonable efforts to ensure the operability of the software and computing resources, as well as the completeness of the data sets, made available to the public pursuant to this Order. Should technical issues arise, the Commission staff will work diligently to resolve them as soon as possible. Parties are advised to check the “Research Studies” page of the Commission’s Media Ownership website, at http://www.fcc.gov/ownership/studies.html for details and updates. 3 In the Matter of 2006 Quadrennial Regulatory Review – Review of the Commission’s Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996; 2002 Biennial Regulatory Review – Review of the Commission’s Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996; Cross-Ownership of Broadcast Stations and Newspapers; Rules and Policies Concerning Multiple Ownership of Radio Broadcast Stations In Local Markets; Definition of Radio Markets, Protective Order, DA 07-3741 (rel. Sept. 5, 2007). 2 obtain licenses from any or all licensors of the underlying proprietary data to evaluate the results of the studies and/or to develop other studies that will contribute to the record in this proceeding. For many of the studies, the data sets that the Commission will make available are only readable by, and require the user to be familiar with, specific statistical software programs (namely, S+, SAS, and STATA). In addition, the Commission has a limited number of on-site computing resources available for use by members of the public. Therefore, the Commission strongly recommends that interested parties call in advance to schedule use of the Commission’s facilities. Persons with a scheduled appointment will be given priority over walk-in users. In addition, the Commission will post minor data additions or updates to certain studies as necessary. For details, see the “Research Studies” page of the Commission’s Media Ownership website at http://www.fcc.gov/ownership/studies.html. For further information, contact Kristi Thompson at (202) 418-1318 of the Media Bureau. Press inquiries should be directed to Mary Diamond, Media Bureau, at (202) 418-2388. TTY: (202) 418-7172 or (888) 835-5322. -FCC-