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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  TTY  202/  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  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).  FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT  July  15,  2002  Michelle  Russo  at  (202)  418-  2358 
 FCC  MEDIA  BUREAU  ANNOUNCES  NEW  SENIOR  ECONOMIC  TEAM  AND  ECONOMIC  RESEARCH  INITIATIVE 
 Independent  Research  will  Emphasize  Current  and  Future  Market  Analysis 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  Kenneth  Ferree,  chief  of  the  Media  Bureau  at  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC),  today  announced  a  new  economic  research  initiative  that 
 will  emphasize  independent  market  analysis  and  forward  thinking  research  on  how  media  markets  operate  today  and  how  they  will  operate  in  the  future.  Today’s  initiative  underscores 
 FCC  Chairman  Michael  K.  Powell’s  commitment  to  excellence  in  economics.  Jerry  Duvall  was  named  Director  of  Media  Economic  Research  and  will  lead  the  program;  Tracy  Waldon  will 
 replace  Duvall  as  the  Bureau’s  Chief  Economist. 
 Ferree  said  that  the  FCC’s  pro-  competitive  regulatory  approach,  technological  advances,  and  increasing  demand  for  media  services  have  changed  the  nature  of  the  work  of  Media  Bureau 
 economists.  As  competition  continues  to  evolve,  Ferree  said,  Media  Bureau  economists  should  expand  their  efforts  to  monitor  and  evaluate  the  performance  of  media  markets  from  a  consumer 
 welfare  perspective.  As  part  of  this  new  initiative,  Media  Bureau  economists  will  focus  their  research  efforts  on  three  broad  areas  of  economic  inquiry: 


 1.  The  nature  of  competition  in  media  markets;  2.  The  assessment  of  industry  economic  performance  and  analysis  of  the  costs  and 
 benefits  of  structural  regulation;  and  3.  Industry  organizational  change. 


 The  new  initiative  will  include  efforts  to  develop  data  independently  and  to  address  new  and  novel  regulatory  approaches.  The  research  also  will  delve  into  fundamental  questions 
 regarding  the  need  for  and  the  basis  of  government  intervention  in  media  markets.  The  new  focus,  Ferree  said,  will  be  valuable  not  only  to  the  FCC,  but  also  to  industry  participants, 
 consumer  groups,  and  individual  citizens.  By  having  access  to  objective,  timely  information  about  the  media  markets,  the  public  will  be  better  informed  about  media  services  and  better  able 
 to  measure  the  efforts  of  the  FCC  to  promote  competition,  localism,  and  diversity  in  the  media. 
 The  information  developed  through  this  initiative  will  be  made  available  to  the  public  through  the  Media  Bureau’s  existing  Media  Bureau  Staff  Research  Paper  series. 


 Jerry  Duvall  has  been  an  Economist  for  the  FCC  during  the  course  of  two  tenures  totaling  more  than  15  years  of  service.  Duvall  has  been  the  Media  Bureau’s  Chief  Economist  since  the 
 Bureau’s  inception  in  March  2002  and  was  the  Chief  Economist  of  the  Mass  Media  Bureau  since 
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 1996.  Prior  to  joining  the  FCC,  Duvall  was  a  Senior  Economist  for  Intelsat  (1987-  1994)  and  did  consulting  in  private  practice  (1983-  1987). 
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 Ferree  said,  “Jerry  has  been  a  valued  member  of  the  Media  Bureau  since  its  inception.  His  work  over  the  past  two  months  in  the  development  of  this  new  research  initiative  has  been 
 enthusiastic  and  energetic,  and  I  look  forward  to  working  with  him  in  his  new  role.” 
 Tracy  Waldon  was  an  Industry  Economist  in  the  Wireline  Competition  Bureau  (formerly  known  as  Common  Carrier  Bureau)  since  March  1996  and  he  also  served  as  an  Industry 
 Economist  in  the  former  Mass  Media  Bureau  (1995-  1996). 
 Ferree  said,  “I  am  excited  that  Tracy  has  agreed  to  become  our  Chief  Economist.  His  work  at  the  FCC  has  been  nothing  short  of  brilliant.  In  particular,  his  work  on  the  FCC’s  review 
 of  the  proposed  DirecTV-  Echostar  merger  was  invaluable.  Our  Bureau  is  consistently  faced  with  challenging  policy  questions  that  require  complex  economic  analysis;  I  am  confident  that  Tracy 
 will  add  a  great  deal  of  value  to  our  efforts.” 
 -  FCC  - 
 For  more  information  about  the  Media  Bureau,  visit  www.  fcc.  gov/  mb. 
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