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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:  November  22,  2006  Rudy  Brioché:  (202)  418-  2300 
 e-  mail:  rudy.  brioche@  fcc.  gov 


 COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN  SAYS  PUBLIC  NOTICE  ON  MEDIA  OWNERSHIP  ECONOMIC  STUDIES  IS  “SCANT”  AND  “UNDERMINES  PUBLIC 
 CONFIDENCE” 
 Washington,  DC.  –  In  response  to  today’s  Public  Notice  on  economic  studies  to  be  conducted  as  part  of  the  media  ownership  proceeding,  Commissioner  Adelstein  said: 


 “Today’s  unilateral  release  of  this  Public  Notice  on  the  eve  of  the  Thanksgiving  holiday  ultimately  undermines  the  public's  confidence  by  raising  more  questions  than  it  answers.  The 
 legitimacy  of  the  studies  is  directly  correlated  to  the  transparency  of  the  process  undertaken  to  develop  the  studies  and  select  the  authors. 


 The  descriptions  of  the  studies  are  scant,  lacking  any  sense  of  the  Commission's  expectations  for  scope,  proposed  methodology  and  data  sources.  In  certain  instances,  the  truncated  period  of  time 
 to  complete  the  studies  is  an  ingredient  for  a  study  that  doesn't  engender  public  faith  and  confidence.  The  release  of  this  deficient  Public  Notice  is  unfortunate  given  the  importance  of 
 these  studies  in  evaluating  the  impact  of  media  ownership  on  the  American  public." 


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