Walden: Local R-TV Ownership Should Reflect Diversity Of U.S. Communities
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.): “As a former radio station owner in rural Oregon, I know well that our local broadcasters are often Americans’ primary source of local news, particularly in rural areas. To ensure every American has an opportunity to be served content relevant for all identities, Congress must act to bring our media ownership laws into the 21st century, create policies to incentivize new entrants into the marketplace, and help lift voices of underrepresented individuals by promoting diversity where it matters most: ownership.”
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has introduced a bill, the Broadcast Diversity in Leadership Act, to promote broadcast diversity by creating the incubator program the FCC tried to introduce as part of its broadcast dereg order that was remanded by a federal appeals court. The difference is that while the FCC incubator program was radio only, Walden’s is for TV as well.
House Energy & Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden (R-Ore.) signaled Wednesday that the government needs to start looking at the employment and ownership diversity of over-the-top content providers.
Rep. Greg Walden, incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced a bill Dec. 7 that would eliminate the FCC ban on a single entity owning both a broadcast station and a daily newspaper in the same market. Walden called the ban on such crossownership, enacted in 1975, a “relic of the disco era” ill-suited to a struggling media industry.
Republicans have elected Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) the next chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. Walden defeated Reps. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), the former committee chairman, in the race for the gavel. Current chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), is stepping down from the position due to term limits.
As chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee for the past two cycles, Oregon Rep. Greg Walden helped Republicans win and preserve a historic majority. Now the nine-term member is ready for his next move. He’s vying against a member with more seniority for the gavel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Exclusives
Slow Going For Broadcaster Repack Relief
NAB is pressing Congress for more time and money for broadcasters to move to new channels following the spectrum incentive auction this spring, but key policymakers are signaling that such relief will not come, if it comes at all, until after the incentive auction when the full dimensions of band repacking are better known.
The House Energy and Commerce communications subcommittee may be making a push on telecom issues, but don’t expect to see Rep. Frank Pallone’s new telecom bill on the agenda anytime soon. Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden told Politico’s Morning Tech newsletter that he’s not on board with Pallone’s new bill that would give the FCC a $1 billion emergency fund to help broadcasters stay on the air after this year’s incentive auction. He cited timing concerns.
When it comes to who in Congress has sway over media and tech issues, look no further than Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.). As chairman of the communications and technology subcommittee, Walden, a ham radio operator and former broadcaster, has been trying to get some changes at how the FCC does its business for the better part of three Congresses. And he’s not about to give up now.
Even though the FCC chairman said the agency would stay out of the newsroom in a proposed study of the media marketplace, GOP leaders want to make sure it stays that way. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the communications and technology subcommittee, vowed today to introduce legislation to kill the agency’s so-called “Critical Information Needs” study. He’s also planning to hold a hearing.
The FCC Should Stay Out Of TV Newsrooms
Among the many things wrong with the commission’s proposed study of local media, the most egregious is its intention to interview newspeople on how they do their jobs. It’s one thing to profile the media in a market to see how it could be opened up to more players. It’s something entirely else to muck around in the editorial decision making of broadcasters and other media. ~~ Also this week, a tip of the cap to Scott Blumenthal of LIN Media who’s retiring after more than 40 years in broadcasting.
The Republican congressman says any changes “should not be hastily slapped together for the benefit of a few players in the industry.” And, he added, the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act should not include retrans reform provisions.
Via a Google Hangout, key House committee chairmen Greg Walden (left) and Fred Upton launched a multiyear effort to examine the nation’s communications laws and update them for the Internet era. Former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell also speaks during the video.
The fight over the FCC’s future returned to Congress on Thursday — along with the animosity that marked past battles, especially over its ability to extract the net neutrality-like concessions it won in approving the Comcast-NBCUniversal merger.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and a former broadcaster, isn’t giving up on his mission to reform the FCC. In a press briefing Wednesday morning, Walden seemed more determined than ever to pass legislation that would bring major changes to the independent agency that wields enormous sway over the $3 trillion communications business.
Levin: TV Spectrum Auctions Likely Doomed
The chief architect of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan says the incentive auction of TV spectrum is unlikely to produce much spectrum for wireless broadband or money for the federal treasury. Why? NAB-backed provisions designed to protect broadcasters in the authorizing legislation will expose the auction to crippling litigation. “Congratulations to [NAB President] Gordon Smith,” he says. “He did a great job. He did the job he was hired to do…. But let’s not kid ourselves: That’s not putting the United States first.”
Auctions May Be In GOP Payroll Tax Bill
Republicans are considering including Rep. Greg Walden’s (R-Ore.) spectrum bill in a proposal to extend the payroll tax holiday, Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office confirmed.
Rep. Walden Floats Voluntary Auction Bill
The legislation instructs the FCC to make “all reasonable efforts to preserve … the coverage area and population served” of broadcasters who choose to hang on to their spectrum and not participate in the spectrum action. NAB praised the bill as a “a major step forward in ensuring that local television stations will continue to be able to serve our vast and diverse audiences.”
The Republican duo of Rep. Greg Walden (Ore.) and Sen. Dean Heller (Nev.) unveiled legislation to change the way the FCC does business. Walden and other Republicans have stepped up their criticism of the FCC following the agency’s adoption of net-neutrality rules, which the GOP argues are unnecessary and an overreach of the agency’s authority.
FCC Needs Reform, Accountability
The FCC should establish “shot clocks” so that parties know how quickly they can expect action in certain proceedings and should provide a schedule for when reports will be released. It should establish its own internal procedures for reviewing and deliberating on pending orders. And agencies entrusted with reviewing mergers, acquisitions and other transactions should focus on the merits of the transaction, and any conditions imposed on transactions should be tailored to transaction-specific harms already within the FCC’s authority to consider.
The leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Tuesday asking him to strike the Fairness Doctrine from the agency’s rulebook. The controversial rule, introduced in 1949, required broadcasters to present controversial public issues in a manner deemed fair and balanced by the FCC. The commission concluded in 1987 that the Fairness Doctrine was unconstitutional and pledged to cease enforcing it.
Chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee and one-time radio broadcaster Greg Walden expesses doubt that the FCC plan for reclaiming broadcast spectrum is voluntary for broadcasters. He also joins broadcasters in calling for a spectrum inventory to determine whether taking back broadcast spectrum is truly necessary.
Greg Walden (R-Ore.), a one-time radio station owner and longtime ally of broadcasters, used Twitter this afternoon to break the news that he will become the next chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, which oversees broadcasting laws and regulations.
