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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: 
 May  15,  2003  David  Fiske:  (202)  418-  0513 
 FCC  Chairman  Responds  to  Request  for  Delay  on  Media  Ownership  Proceeding 
 Washington,  D.  C.—  Federal  Communication  Commission  Chairman  Michael  K.  Powell  personally  delivered  his  response  today  to  Commissioners  Jonathan  S.  Adelstein  and  Michael  J. 
 Copps,  both  of  whom  had  requested  a  delay  of  the  June  2  nd  vote  on  the  broadcast  ownership  Biennial  Review  proceeding. 


 In  a  letter,  Powell  thanked  Commissioners  Adelstein  and  Copps  for  their  efforts  to  involve  the  public  in  the  debate,  explained  why  he  was  unable  to  grant  the  request,  and 
 announced  an  extension  of  the  sunshine  period  to  allow  public  debate  to  continue  closer  to  the  date  of  the  vote. 


 “I  have  given  serious  consideration  to  the  concerns  raised  in  your  letter  and  have  solicited  the  views  of  the  other  Commissioners,”  Powell  wrote.  “For  reasons  explained  below,  I  must 
 respectfully  decline  to  postpone  the  planned  June  2nd  consideration  of  the  Broadcast  Ownership  Biennial  Review.” 


 “There  is  precedent  for  granting  such  a  request,”  Powell  continued,  “but  it  is  not  customary  to  do  so  over  the  strong  objections  of  a  majority  of  Commissioners  who  are  prepared 
 to  proceed,  or  where  Congress  has  statutorily  set  the  pace  of  our  deliberations,  as  is  the  case  here.” 


 “Media  ownership  rules  are  intended  to  protect  and  advance  the  cherished  values  of  diversity,  localism  and  competition,”  Powell  wrote.  “These  values  and  the  public  interest, 
 however,  are  ill-  served  by  letting  stand  a  body  of  rules  that  are  unenforceable.  When  the  judiciary  reverses  our  rules,  especially  ones  intended  to  promote  core  First  Amendment  values,  it 
 is  incumbent  on  us  to  repair  the  shortcomings  as  quickly  as  possible.” 
 The  Commission  will  vote  on  the  media  ownership  Biennial  Review  on  June  2,  2003,  as  previously  scheduled.  In  addition,  the  sunshine  period  will  be  extended  to  Friday,  May  30,  the 
 last  business  day  before  the  open  meeting,  so  that  Commissioners  and  their  staffs  can  continue  to  engage  the  public  as  the  Commissioners  deliberate  the  item  internally. 


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