Warnings from Senators

Federal Communications Commission Chair Kevin Martin received a friendly but firm tap on the shoulder on Monday from nine United States Senators regarding the agency's localism and media ownership proceedings. In a letter authored by Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, the nine warned the FCC not to change the Commission's media ownership rules until it had completed its localism and media ownership proceedings.

In particular, the letter urged Martin not to combine the comments and filings of the media and localism proceedings in a bid to speed up the rulemaking process.

"The FCC must first establish that there are sufficient mechanisms in place to ensure that broadcasters are serving their local communities before considering any changes to the ownership rules," the statement says. "Folding the comments or any part of the inquiry into the media ownership proceeding simply is not sufficient to thoroughly address the important issues that need to be addressed on localism, and it is precisely for that reason that a separate inquiry was commenced.

The letter is signed by Dorgan, Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), John Kerry (D-MA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). But one name stands out: that of Republican Trent Lott of Mississippi. Lott and Dorgan lead the list of signatures on the letter. Dorgan on the left; Lott on the right.

Unrecuse me?

Meanwhile Associated Press reports that Hawaii U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Michigan Congressmember John Dingell both sent the FCC pointed queries last night about rumors that Martin wants to get the Commission's General Counsel to "unrecuse" his fellow Republican Robert M. McDowell from the AT&T/BellSoutth merger proceeding.

McDowell can't vote because he used to be a lobbyist for telecom trade groups. Without his input, however, the five person agency is deadlocked 2/2 on whether to approve the buyout, which will give AT&T control over half the nation's landlines, not to mention Cingular wireless.

This muscle flexing from the Hill has to be seen as ominous in some quarters. Inouye is about to take over the Senate Commerce Committee, bumping Alaska Republican Ted Stevens aside. And Dingell will replace Texas Republican Joe Barton as chair off the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

What a difference an election makes.

Nashville's Big Night

And the press is having big fun with the FCC's upcoming media ownership hearing in Nashville, scheduled for this Monday, December 11th. "FCC to hear country stars tales of woe," reads a Reuters headline on the event, which will include testimony by Porter Wagoner, George Jones, Dobie Gray, and Naomi Judd.

Chances are good that most of these artists will express concerns about the impact of media consolidation on country music. It will be interesting to see what Judd has to say, she being a member of the advisory board of the Parents Television Council (PTC).

At the last FCC media ownership hearing, held in Los Angeles, PTC Executive Director Tim Winters inveighed against the media monopolies from a PTC perspective. "From where I sit," he said, "media consolidation has dealt a devastating blow" to television programming.

Of course the PTC sits in a very different seat from most opponents of media consolidation. Of late the group has been part of a campaign to get references to God and the Bible back into NBC's "Veggie Tales" children's series.

Apparently they've met with success. "PTC Applauds NBC for Putting God Back Into 'Veggie Tales'," reads the top headline on the PTC Web site. The announcement follows comments by the show's originator Phil Vischer that the producers are no longer editing out biblical materials he included in his scripts. In his blog though, Vischer has taken pains to point out that this is a PTC crusade, not his.

"For the record one more time, I'm not upset that NBC wants their kids programming to be free from religious statements. That is perfectly within their right," Vischer writes, emphasizing that he just doesn't think some of his stories make a lot of sense with the Bible references taken out.