"Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is doing a Michael Powell," AFL-CIO leader Paul Almeida wrote to his constituents last week, referring to Martin's predecessor at the FCC. "He’s trying to ram through new rules to give more billions to billionaires - people like Rupert Murdoch and Sam Zell - at our expense."

"Please spread the alert to your members. Ask that they contact their Members of Congress," Almeida's message continued. "Tell Congress to keep the Bush FCC from allowing more media consolidation. Only if your members take action can we support local news and entertainment, a diversity of views, and media competition."

The alarm was triggered by an Associated Press news report released that day, October 18th. It said that Martin plans to release a plan soon to relax the FCC's many media ownership rules, among them restrictions on owning a newspaper and a TV station in the same market, or owning many radio stations and TV stations in the same market.

Since then, tempers have been rising in Washington, D.C. United States Senators Byron Dorgan and Trent Lott quickly dispatched a letter to Martin. "We strongly encourage you to slow down and proceed with caution," the statement said.

The AP article says that Martin plans to propose new media ownership rules soon, likely at a hearing on October 31st. The public would be allowed to comment through mid-November and some of December. The Commission would vote on the proposal at a meeting on December 18th.

The Commission would also hold its last hearing on its media ownership provisions in Seattle on November 2nd.

The last time that the FCC relaxed its ownership limits, in 2003, a coalition of media reform groups took the decision to court and had most of it declared invalid. This time Martin has taken matters somewhat more slowly than Powell, first launching a vague, open ended proceeding on the matter—now allowing the public to comment on new proposed rules.

But the final comment cycle will only last for a relatively brief about of time—about a month between when the proposed media ownership changes will be formally published in mid-November and the vote in December, scheduled for about a week before Christmas.

Martin is widely expected to propose relaxing the FCC's proviso against owning a newspaper and a TV station in the same city, a move that would give a boost to real estate magnate Sam Zell's attempt to buy the Tribune Company. Zell's purchase can't go forward without a renewed waiver of Tribune's ownership of both a TV station and the L.A. Times in Los Angeles.