SUSAN M. COLLINS 
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The Honorable Tom Wheeler 
Chairman 
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WASHINGTON, DC 20510-1904 
February 25, 2014 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12Lh Street, SW 
Washington DC, 20554 
Dear Chairman Wheeler: 
Jam writing to express my concern about the Commission's proposed "Multi-Market Study of 
Critical Information Needs" (CTN). While I am pleased that your office has chosen to 
temporarily suspend this study, I am deeply troubled that the Commission would even 
contemplate such actions in the ftrst place. 
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As I understand it, under the CTN as originally proposed, FCC representatives would have 
interviewed journalists, anchors, and producers about the stories they choose to cover, and the 
manner in which those stories were reported. As FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai noted in a recent 
Wall Street Journal article, the FCC would have been engaged in questioning news station 
personnel about their "news philosophy," and about editorial discretion and decision-making. 
Given the fact that the FCC is also tasked with evaluating broadcast license applications, it is not 
a stretch to imagine that newsrooms would seek to choose and present stories in a manner that 
the Commission deems "appropriate." 
I cannot recall a regulatory proposal more offensive to the principles of the First Amendment. A 
free press is central to American liberties, and allowing the executive branch to attempt to 
influence the news the public receives is chilling and completely unacceptable. 
I recognize that your office has chosen to temporarily suspend the CIN and to revise the survey. 
I urge the Commission to abandon this approach altogether to ensure the Commission takes no 
steps to impede the F irst Amendment rights of news organizations or other Americans under any 
guise. 
t::-~ 
cc: Mignon Clyburn, Commissioner 
Susan M. Collins 
United States Senator 
cc: Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioner 
cc: Ajit Pai, Commissioner 
cc: Michael O 'Rielly, Commissioner 
(i) PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER