Broadcast Journalism to be weighed by FCC
From the trade publication Inside Radio today:
Mandatory news is one idea as the FCC will weigh the future of broadcast journalism. Democratic commissioner Michael Copps is reportedly circulating a proposed Notice of Inquiry that would examine the state of broadcast journalism. CNSNews.com says it would look at consolidation’s impact as well as how the internet is picking up the slack following traditional media’s cutbacks. It also considers issuing “behavioral rules” for broadcasters, including mandatory newscasts. An FCC spokesman tells Inside Radio the agency doesn’t comment on pending items that have been circulated to the commissioners. The state of journalism has had Copps’ attention for years. In a speech to Free Press in May, he called for a “serious national discussion” on changes in the media landscape and the rise of “infotainment” instead of hard news. But Copps believes government intervention may not be the way to go. “Certainly we need more regulation than the country has had these past several years, but regulation isn’t always the answer,” he said. One possible solution he suggested, for instance, is a public broadcasting system “on steroids.” Conservatives worry stricter public interest standards could be a backdoor attempt at reviving the Fairness Doctrine, but Copps insists that’s not the case. In his Free Press speech, he responded, “We will not lose this opportunity to make real and lasting progress on media reform because some find it is in their self-interest to keep this phony issue alive.”
