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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  February  21,  2003  Rosemary  Kimball  202-  418-  0511 
 e-  mail:  rkimball@  fcc.  gov 
 PANELS  AND  AGENDA  SET  FOR  PUBLIC  HEARING  IN  RICHMOND,  VA.  ON  BROADCAST  OWNERSHIP  RULES 


 Washington,  DC  –  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  today  announced  the  format,  list  of  panelists  and  moderator  for  its  previously  announced  field  hearing  on 
 broadcast  ownership  rules  to  be  held  in  Richmond,  VA.  The  one-  day  field  hearing  is  being  held  Thursday,  February  27,  2003,  from  10:  00  AM  to  4:  00  PM,  at  the  Greater  Richmond  Convention 
 Center. 
 The  hearing  will  be  organized  into  three  panels,  each  of  which  will  focus  on  one  of  the  FCC’s  key  policy  goals  of  broadcast  regulation  –  diversity,  localism  and  competition.  The  panel 
 members  were  selected  with  the  goal  of  making  the  panels  balanced  and  informative,  and  include  representatives  from  consumer  groups,  industry  and  leading  academic  institutions.  After  each 
 panel,  there  will  be  an  opportunity  for  any  member  of  the  general  public  to  make  comments  during  “open  microphone”  sessions.  A  list  of  panelists  is  attached. 


 Thomas  Krattenmaker  will  moderate  the  hearing.  Mr.  Krattenmaker  is  currently  Senior  Counsel  in  the  Washington  office  of  the  law  firm  Mintz,  Levin,  Cohn,  Ferris,  Glovsky  and  Popeo 
 PC,  where  he  specializes  in  telecommunications  transactions  and  antitrust  issues.  Before  joining  the  firm,  he  was  Director  of  Research  in  the  FCC’s  Office  of  Plans  and  Policy  under  Chairman 
 William  Kennard.  He  has  taught  and  written  extensively  on  constitutional  law,  antitrust  law  and  communications  law,  policy  and  regulation  in  positions  at  Georgetown  University,  the  College  of 
 William  and  Mary,  the  University  of  Connecticut  and  the  University  of  Natal  in  South  Africa. 
 The  FCC’s  review  of  broadcast  ownership  rules  has  generated  one  of  the  most  exhaustive  records  in  Commission  history.  The  FCC  has  received  more  than  15,000  comments  in  this 
 proceeding,  the  majority  of  which  are  from  the  general  public. 
 The  six  broadcast  ownership  rules  to  be  discussed  at  the  hearing  and  the  years  they  originally  were  adopted  are: 


 1.  Newspaper/  Broadcast  Cross-  Ownership  Prohibition  (1975);  2.  Local  Radio  Ownership  (1941); 
 3.  National  TV  Ownership  (1941):  remanded  by  D.  C.  Circuit;  4.  Local  TV  Multiple  Ownership,  aka  “Duopoly  rule”  (1964):  remanded  by  D.  C.  Circuit; 
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 5.  Radio/  TV  Cross-  Ownership  Restriction  (1970);  6.  Dual  Television  Network  Rule  (1946). 
 The  hearing  is  open  to  the  public  and  seating  will  be  available  on  a  first-  come,  first-served  basis.  All  interested  persons  are  invited  to  attend. 
 A  live  audiocast  of  the  hearing  will  be  available,  on  a  first-  come,  first-  served  basis,  through  the  FCC’s  Web  site  at  www.  fcc.  gov.  In  addition,  the  transcript  will  be  available  on  the 
 FCC  Web  site  within  14  business  days  of  the  hearing.  The  transcript  will  be  a  part  of  the  record  in  the  broadcast  ownership  rulemaking  proceeding. 


 Requests  for  reasonable  accommodations  for  people  with  disabilities  should  be  made  by  sending  an  e-  mail  to:  fcc504@  fcc.  gov.  Include  a  description  of  the  accommodation  you  will 
 need  including  as  much  detail  as  you  can.  Also  include  a  way  we  can  contact  you  if  we  need  more  information.  Make  your  request  as  early  as  possible;  please  allow  at  least  5  days  advance 
 notice.  Last  minute  requests  will  be  accepted,  but  may  be  impossible  to  fill.  Contact  the  following  Consumer  &  Governmental  Affairs  Bureau  staff:  for  sign  language  interpreters, 
 CART,  and  other  reasonable  accommodations,  contact  Helen  Chang,  202-  418-  0424  (voice),  202-  418-  0432  (TTY),  hchang@  fcc.  gov;  for  accessible  format  materials  (braille,  large  print, 
 electronic  files,  and  audio  format)  contact  Brian  Millin,  202-  418-  7426  (voice),  202-  418-  7365  (TTY),  bmillin@  fcc.  gov. 


 Interested  members  of  the  public  may  also  participate  in  this  proceeding  by  filing  comments  electronically  using  the  Commission’s  Electronic  Comment  Filing  System  (ECFS) 
 and  ECFS  Express  at  www.  fcc.  gov. 
 -  FCC  - 
 For  further  information,  contact  Amelia  Brown,  Consumer  &  Governmental  Affairs  Bureau,  at  (202)  418-  1400. 


 MB  Docket  02-  277 
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