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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  CONTACTS: 
 January  27,  2005  Jordan  Goldstein:  (202)  418-  2000  Johanna  Shelton:  (202)  418-  2300 
 COPPS  AND  ADELSTEIN  WELCOME  DECISION  NOT  TO  APPEAL  THIRD  CIRCUIT  MEDIA  OWNERSHIP  RULING,  BUT  WARN  AGAINST  BACK-  DOOR 
 COMMISSION  ACTION 
 FCC  Commissioners  Michael  J.  Copps  and  Jonathan  S.  Adelstein  reacted  to  reports  that  the  Office  of  the  Solicitor  General  has  decided  not  to  file  an  appeal  of  the  Third  Circuit  decision 
 overturning  the  Commission’s  June  2,  2003  Order  that  weakened  the  nation’s  media  concentration  protections.  Copps  and  Adelstein,  who  opposed  the  agency’s  earlier  action, 
 welcomed  the  Acting  Solicitor  General’s  decision  and  laid  out  a  path  forward: 
 “The  Third  Circuit  correctly  recognized  that  the  Commission’s  decision  was  legally  and  procedurally  flawed.  The  ball  is  now  back  in  the  FCC’s  court.  The  Commission  should  seize 
 this  second  chance  to  do  the  right  thing.  To  move  forward  to  redesign  our  media  policy,  we  call  on  the  FCC  to  take  three  steps:  (1)  We  should  immediately  begin  a  comprehensive  proceeding  to 
 adopt  rules  that  will  promote  the  core  values  of  localism,  competition,  and  diversity.  (2)  We  renew  our  call  for  the  full  Commission  to  schedule  a  series  of  hearings  across  the  country  to 
 engage  the  American  people  on  the  future  of  their  media  and  to  gain  a  better  understanding  of  the  impact  of  media  concentration  on  our  communities.  These  should  commence  immediately. 
 (3)  We  call  on  the  FCC  to  gather  a  far  more  complete  record,  including  independent  research  studies  on  media  concentration  in  a  variety  of  markets,  so  that  we  can  make  a  decision  that  has  a 
 more  solid  foundation  than  the  last  failed  effort.” 


 Copps  stated:  “I  think  there  are  companies  out  there  who  want  to  game  the  process  by  having  the  Commission  write  quick  rules,  one  by  one  and  under  the  radar  scope,  and  accomplish 
 piecemeal  what  they  couldn’t  get  whole.  The  American  people  are  not  served  by  a  stealth  airwaves  grab.” 


 Adelstein  added,  “If  true,  the  Administration  made  the  right  move.  At  least  for  today,  the  power  of  the  American  people  triumphed  over  narrow  corporate  interests.  It’s  a  victory  for 
 millions  of  people  who  voiced  their  concern  about  letting  big  media  companies  get  even  bigger.  It  signals  how  badly  the  FCC  failed  to  comply  with  the  law.  We  need  to  go  back  to  the  drawing 
 board  and  get  it  right.  I  hope  we  learned  our  lesson  that  public  anger  flares  quickly  when  the  government  sides  with  media  conglomerates.  We  ought  to  listen  to  the  public  this  time.” 
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