FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly: “Current law prevents the FCC from pursuing a fine against a company that is not generally regulated by the commission unless it is previously issued a written citation. I am concerned that citations are being used as another tool to expand the FCC’s reach and thus its mission — a maneuver that amounts to regulation by citation. Both concerns must be remedied and this can occur while working well within the statutory structure that Congress provided.”
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly offered an interesting perspective on station security Tuesday on the FCC’s blog: “The commission’s effort to require online public inspection files for most television and radio broadcast stations (and others) brings with it the opportunity to improve the physical security of broadcast stations. Simply put, once the public is able to view these documents online, there should be no need for public access to broadcast station premises.”
Michael O’Rielly, the newest FCC commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, is frustrated. O’Rielly, one of two Republicans on the five-person FCC, joined the agency in October 2013. And since then he has been in one battle after another with his Democratic colleagues. For the most part, he’s lost. His frustration with the FCC underscores the contentious interaction among the commissioners, which make up one of the more politically divisive commissions in recent history.
When the FCC Incentive Auction task force released data on a simulation of the upcoming broadcast incentive spectrum auction Wednesday, GOP commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly promptly took the results and the process to task. Wheeler then pushed back in a press conference following the FCC’s regular monthly meeting on Thursday.
Commissioner Michael O’Rielly in a blog post pushed back on a number of objections to publicly releasing the text of items at the same time they are circulated internally. O’Rielly has been pushing for a change since last August. Congress might need to act, he said, if the FCC does not make the change on its own.
As lawmakers raced to gavel out the 113th Congress into history, the U.S. Senate gave some stability to the FCC. It voted to nominate Republican commissioner Mike O’Reilly to a new term. The former Capitol Hill staffer had been serving out the term of former commissioner Robert McDowell since being sworn-in last November.
Exclusives
President Obama has renominated Michael O’Rielly for a full term on the FCC. The Republican commissioner was unanimously confirmed by the Senate last year, on the same day FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was also approved. O’Rielly, a former GOP Senate staffer, was approved to finish out the term of Robert McDowell, who left a little less than a year before his term expired.
The commissioners will take part in the Inside the Beltway Style” on Tuesday, April 8, at 2:30 p.m. at this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas.
FCC’s O’Rielly: Don’t Tighten JSA, SSA Rules
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly on JSAs and SSAs: “I think it is fair to say that the media marketplace is far more competitive than it was decades ago when the FCC’s media ownership rules were established, or in 2002 … or 2006 when they were last reviewed. That is why I would be perplexed and deeply concerned by a push to abruptly switch gears and tighten the rules as part of a media ownership proceeding. Such a move would conflict with the spirit, intent and wording of the statute. It would also likely harm the public interest if fewer stations could offer local news, especially in smaller communities.”
The new Republican member of the FCC also criticizes the commission for failing to live up to its legislatively mandated obligation to review the FCC media ownership regulations every four years, eliminating rules that are no longer in the public interest.
