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 Opening  Statement  Of  FCC  Chairman  Kevin  J.  Martin 
 Public  Hearing  on  Media  Ownership  Nashville,  Tennessee 
 December  11,  2006 
 Good  afternoon.  Thank  you  for  joining  us  today.  And,  thank  you  to  Commissioner  Tate  for  her  all  of  her  hard,  hard  work  putting  together  this  hearing  and  for 
 making  us  feel  right  at  home  here  in  Nashville.  I  can’t  think  of  a  better  place  to  go  than  Music  City  to  hear  various  views  on  media  ownership  and  its  impact  on  the  music 
 industry. 
 As  you  know,  we  began  a  comprehensive  review  of  our  rules  governing  media  ownership  this  past  summer.  This  hearing  is  the  second  in  a  series  of  six  media  ownership 
 hearings  the  Commission  intends  to  hold  across  the  country.  We  held  the  first  of  these  hearings  in  Los  Angeles  in  October.  The  goal  of  these  hearings  is  to  more  fully  and 
 directly  involve  the  American  people  in  the  process.  I  have  said  many  times  before,  but  it  bears  repeating,  public  input  is  critical  to  our  process. 


 The  decisions  we  will  make  about  our  ownership  rules  will  be  as  difficult  as  they  are  critical.  The  media  touches  almost  every  aspect  of  our  lives.  We  are  dependent  upon 
 it  for  our  news,  our  information  and  our  entertainment.  Indeed,  the  opportunity  to  express  diverse  viewpoints  lies  at  the  heart  of  our  democracy. 


 The  Commission  has  three  core  goals  that  our  rules  are  intended  to  further;  competition,  diversity  and  localism.  I  recognize  many  of  the  concerns  expressed  about 
 increased  consolidation  and  preservation  of  diversity.  Also  critical  to  our  review  is  exploring  and  understanding  the  competitive  realities  of  the  media  marketplace.  Some  of 
 our  rules  have  not  been  updated  for  years  and  may  no  longer  reflect  the  current  marketplace.  Indeed,  the  Third  Circuit  recognized  this  fact  when  it  upheld  the 
 Commission’s  elimination  of  the  newspaper/  broadcast  cross-  ownership  ban.  It  is  our  task  then  to  respond  to  the  Court  by  ensuring  that  our  ownership  rules  take  into  account  the 
 competitive  environment  in  which  media  companies  operate  and  promote  localism  and  diversity. 


 We  are  still  in  the  beginning  phases  of  this  review  of  our  ownership  rules.  We  are  working  to  develop  a  record,  with  hearings  like  this  one  today  and  through  the  written 
 comment  process,  on  which  to  inform  our  decisions. 
 I  am  pleased  that  we  are  holding  our  second  hearing  here  in  Nashville.  Nashville  is  the  30th  largest  media  market  in  the  United  States.  Moreover,  as  the  “home  of  country 
 music,”  Nashville  has  become  the  epicenter  for  major  music  recording  and  production  nationwide.  Nashville  is  home  to  many  recording  artists,  as  well  as  nearly  a  dozen 
 broadcast  television  stations,  several  dozen  FM  and  AM  radio  stations,  including  five  college  stations  and  one  LPFM  station,  several  cable  networks,  two  daily  newspapers  and 
 over  a  dozen  weekly  newspapers. 
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 I  also  want  to  briefly  touch  upon  an  issue  of  interest  to  many  of  you  here  today  –  payola.  The  FCC  has  longstanding  rules  prohibiting  payola.  These  rules  serve  the 
 important  purpose  of  ensuring  that  the  listening  public  knows  when  someone  is  seeking  to  influence  them.  Broadcasters  must  comply  with  these  rules.  We  will  take  enforcement 
 action  if  they  uncover  violations  of  the  payola  rules. 
 I  look  forward  to  hearing  your  thoughts  and  insights  on  the  subject  of  our  media  ownership  rules.  Thank  you  for  your  participation  today. 


 -  FCC  - 
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