Big Media Meets Its Match

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By enlisting the public, Copps and Adelstein turned a lost vote into a populist crusade and, along the way, picked up something that's rare for a bureaucratic appointee: a fan base. 'They're the progressive power couple in Washington,' says Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a media advocacy group that focuses on Internet access and openness.

The Washington Monthly, in the March 2007 article 'Let's Do Lunch,' put the commissioners at the top of a list of 21 'new power players you wish you'd been nicer to,' positing that their alliances with key committee chairs put them in a position to 'use high-profile hearings to advance the Democratic commissioners' priorities.'

'The game has changed somewhat,' says Copps, who, like Adelstein, is too diplomatic to gloat or talk about settling political scores. 'I think there is a spirit abroad in the land that would like to have us tackle some of these problems and put together a media environment that is worthy of this country.'

By congressional order, the FCC reviews media ownership rules every four years, and current commission chair Kevin Martin, a savvier and less confrontational conservative than Powell, has agreed to hold six official public hearings across the country to discuss community concerns about media ownership--a broadening subject that encompasses a number of specific issues. An FCC fact sheet on the hearings says the commissioners expect to hear public testimony on minority ownership, music and the creative arts, campaign and community-event coverage, jobs and the economy, family-friendly programming, and the growth of the Internet.

Tampa, Florida, site of the fourth gathering, is a case study in what can happen to a market when corporate media becomes an occupying force. The Virginia-based conglomerate Media General owns the Tampa Tribune; the biggest TV station, WFLA; and TBO.com, a website that the two outlets share. These entities compete with the St. Petersburg Times (which is owned by the Poynter Institute, a school and think tank for journalists) and its website, SPTimes.com.

Inside the auditorium, the hearing is about to begin. At stage left is a table with five spots for the commissioners; at stage right are two tables where a group of expert panelists of all stripes--including media executives, academics, and a political blogger--will give statements before the floor is opened to the several hundred citizens scattered throughout the 1,000-seat space.

Copps, Adelstein, and the three Republican FCC commissioners, who skipped the lobby meet-and-greet, take the stage and engage in a furious round of handshaking with the panelists. Mayor Pam Iorio opens the event with a brief welcome to Tampa, and all the commissioners deliver opening remarks. The three Republicans speak from their seats in measured tones that elicit little response; Copps and Adelstein each take the podium, preaching in a feisty style that draws hearty applause and shouts of approval. This is their show.

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