And the next FCC Chairman/woman if Democrats win the Whitehouse will be....

By SDH FCC Charboy Kevin Martin has seen his days of battle since taking over from Mike Powell. He is accused of sitting on his hands and dragging out the approval process on requests that come across his desk. Democrats are hoping to get the chance to shake up the FCC starting with Martin's departure if the Dems take the White House. Though there is no clear Democratic nominee, people within the circles of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are already throwing out names and speculating about who would become the next FCC Chairman/woman under a Clinton or Obama administration. Anyone would do for us as long as Martin is long gone. If Sen. Hillary Clinton takes the prize, Susan Ness is the name bandied about among the tele-cognesceti. Ness, a former commissioner, has strong ties to the Clintons. If Sen. Barack Obama wins, his campaign and Senate staffs are dotted with people who have close ties to the FCC. Connecting those dots, however, is Julius Genachowski, a former aide to Hundt and Kennard and a close friend of Obama's since they attended Harvard Law School.

The FCC's Martin under fire

FCC Chairboy, Kevin Martin has been coming under increased fire for his management style and decision making procedures. But it doesn't look like Martin will take any hits from his enemies without hitting back. Now the House Energy and Commerce committee has launched an investigation into whether or not under Martin, the agency has been fair and transparent when coming up with regulations. In other words they want to see if Martin's firm stand to ease media ownership restrictions was benefiting anyone specific, like, you know some big media exec or anyone else other than who he claimed would benefit. "The practices at the commission I run are very similar to how the commission has been managed under previous Republican and Democratic commissioners and chairmen," Martin, a Republican, told reporters after speaking to the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's and Citizenship Education Fund's Wall Street Project economic summit in New York. FCC chairman defends commission practices [Reuters]

FCC's cap off could be another win for media king Rupert Murdoch

-RAY FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin sets limits for cable and news firms in an attempt to save the newspaper industry and of course not everyone is happy. However one person that is probably smiling this morning is non other than News Corp, now Dow Jones ruler Rupert Murdoch, who because of this ruling can win permanent waivers to control two television stations in New York, as well as The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal. In one 3-to-2 vote on Tuesday, Mr. Martin sided with the agency’s two other Republicans to relax the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules in the nation’s 20 largest markets. Under the new rule, a company can own both a newspaper and either a television or radio station in those markets as long as there remain at least eight other independent sources of news. If it is a television station, the rule requires that it cannot be one of the top four. F.C.C. Reshapes Rules Limiting Media Industry [NYT]

FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin a power abuser?

-MARTY Forget his proposals currently on the table. They are about to be overshadowed by an investigation into his use of power. FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin needed this like he needs to be Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Apparently their is a question mark hanging over his head regarding his recent TV and media ownership regulations proposal. The question is whether he failed to operate fairly and openly in handling it. Are the cable giants behind this? Did Kevin Martin step into a field of shit without the proper footwear? "I have received several complaints from the public and professionals within the communications industry about how Chairman Martin is conducting business at the FCC," said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who heads the Energy and Commerce subcommittee that will conduct the investigation. "It is one thing to be an aggressive leader, but many of the allegations indicate possible abuse of power and an attempt to intentionally keep fellow commissioners in the dark." FCC target of House panel's investigation [LAT]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH Remember Max Headroom? Well he is coming back to front a series of TV ads to raise awareness of the digital switchover [MG] The publicly traded Warner Music Group reports another profit miss as the music industry continues to suffer for lack of quality music and artist. How long until WMG is sold by it's owner's or taken private. A record company as a publicly traded company? Stupid! [Reuters] FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin is putting the kibosh on cable companies like Comcast. The FCCer may see his proposal to stunt the growth of already large cable companies become reality. Those cable guys are probably working overtime to find loop holes in the proposal. [NYT] Speaking of the FCC, they may finally clear the Tribune buyout. After all this time we still can't get past this Tribune thing huh? [NYP] Discovery Channel Prexy Jane Root has up-rooted herself and will head back to the UK to pursue media opportunities there... Yuk! [Media Guardian]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH Rupert Murdoch, is setting expectations high for his Sky News saying he wants it to be more like Fox News. that's easy all they have to do is spread the Republican agenda and talk up Rudy Giuliani [MG] That kid who runs the FCC, yeah Kevin Martin, is having a hard time getting his fellow FCCers to support his effort to regulate cable television companies more tightly. Good luck Kevo [NYT] ABC and Facebook now working together to bring you closely to politics. As if you would want to be soclose to that dirty thing. [NYT] Seriously though, why does Rupert Murdoch want to kill the WSJ.com paid wall when it brings in so much money every year? Whoever is in charge of ad sales will have to work their ass off even more to match offset that immediate loss of revenue. [Mediaweek]

FCC chairboy kevin martin's new proposal confuses us

-By MARTY What FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin is proposing will probably open the consolidation flood gates. The FCC chief has submitted his proposal to relax its ban on the cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations in the 20 biggest U.S. cities. The deal is designed to help newspaper publishers save their papers by allowing them to perhaps buy a TV or a radio station which some how some way would help. We don't even think Kev knows what he is proposing. "A company that owns a newspaper in one of the 20 largest cities in the country should be permitted to purchase a broadcast TV or radio station in the same market," Martin wrote his newspaper column. "But a newspaper should be prohibited from buying one of the top four TV stations in its community." FCC chief proposes to relax media ownership ban [Reuters]

Note to FCC member Michael Copps: News Corp already has that influence you are soooo worried about, dummy

So, as usual there is always someone at the FCC trying to play hero. This time it's Commission member Michael Copps, who apparently woke up one morning and said to himself "Holy shit, that Rupert guy is too powerful" But what Mr. Copps doesn't know is that he is like a little too late. Copps is concerned that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, now the baddest motherfucker in media, will have their hands in too many pots. ``It will create a single company with enormous influence over politics, art and culture across the nation and especially in the New York area,'' Copps said today in a letter to FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin, a Republican. Copps, one of two Democrats on the five-member panel, said the deal shouldn't proceed until the FCC studies the potential impact on competition, diversity and local-broadcast obligations in the New York market. The Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of an antitrust waiting period in August. FCC's Copps Wants Review of News Corp.-Dow Jones Deal [Bloomberg]

Obama to FCC chairboy Kevin Martin: Sloooow down

Presidential wannabe Barack Obama is calling on FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin to slow his roll on re-writing media ownership rules. This suggestion from someone wanting to take ob George Bush's headaches can't be going over well with big media players like Rupert Murdoch and others who would love to see the door thrown wide open my the FCC so they can go on a massive shopping and merger spree. Dear Chairboy Martin: I am writing regarding your proposal to move forward aggressively with modifications to existing media ownership rules. According to press accounts, you intend to present specific changes to existing rules in November with a commission vote on that proposal -- whatever it may be – Dec. 18, 2007. I believe both the proposed timeline and process are irresponsible Obama Calls On Martin to Slow Down on Ownership Review [B&C]

Looks like FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin really got up off his hands

-SHOMARI HINES Haim Saban and his buddies are some happy campers today now that the FCC has officially approved the sale of Univision. With a new CEO already in place, we can't wait to see how long until Haim and company look to sell it off. The recent pressure on FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin is paying off huh? More work less bullshitting. The Federal Communications Commission Tuesday officially approved the sale of Univision Communications to Broadcasting Media Partners, a group of private equity companies, with certain conditions. Under a consent decree, Univision has agreed to pay a $24 million fine for violating children's programming regulations. Univision has also agreed to a detailed plan that will ensure its future compliance with the Children's Television Act and other rules. FCC Officially Approves Sale of Univision [MediaWeek]

FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin to get off his hands and clear the agency's back log

-Shomari Hines Talk about sitting on your hands. It took a tense hearing on the hill for FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin to want to start working and voting on issues that have been sitting on his desk for some time now. It's his attempt to make nice with Democrats who aren't too big on him. One of the things waiting for approval, or denial still sitting on his desk is the sale of several Disney-owned radio stations to Citadel. What has this guy and his team been doing? Poor Mel Karmazin may end up waiting for a while to hear whether or not he will be able to merge with XM or not. FCC chairman Kevin Martin has scheduled a vote for Thursday on a string of policy decisions as he attempts to break a regulatory logjam at the commission. A released "sunshine" notice includes 13 items, ranging from an approval of the sale of several Disney-owned radio stations to Citadel Broadcasting Corp. to the regulatory classification of wireless broadband services. By including so many items on the agenda, Martin forces them to a vote, an action that could help him in his battles with Congress. This week, he faced pointed questions from lawmakers who questioned the way he has been running the agency. Martin seeking to unclog FCC [Mediaweek]

FCC chairboy Kevin Martin accused of losing his way

-Shomari Hines The top boy at the FCC faced Democrats yesterday and had to answer some tough questions about the goings ons at the FCC. The FCC under Martin's leadership has been accused of favoritism to botched investigations. But no one got to the point like Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "The FCC is not a legislative body. That role resides here, in this room, with the people's elected representatives," Dingell told the commissioners. "When the FCC loses sight of its proper role, consumers suffer, as does the credibility of the FCC. I fear that this has too often been the case." We hope all the reported preparation Kevin Martin went through with his mininons helped out a bit, because it sounds like he walked into hell. Dingell Questions FCC's 'Credibility' [Mediaweek]

Soon the FCC will want to control what you say on your cell phones among other things

-Neil Yoshida The FCC squirt Kevin Martin and company wants bigger balls to swing and they are about to ask Congress for them. We don't know but a part of us feel like this department has a secret goal to rule our every way of communication and entertainment. It's only a matter of time until they move on Satellite radio. Commissioner Robert McDowell told a broadcasters' convention that the commission is struggling with developing recommendations for lawmakers that help protect children without running afoul of the First Amendment. "An effort to minimize children's exposure to violence is a noble effort, but getting there in a reasonable, legal and constitutional way is difficult," he said. Why does the Government think they can control what kids take in? Leave that up to the parents guys, that's their jobs. FCC to Seek Expansion of Powers [Adweek]

Afternoon Wire: Big media held a gun to your kid's head and stuffed Big Macks down his throat

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin really has some serious time on his hands. Not only did he flush Mel Karmazin's dream of a link up between his Sirius and Hugh Panero's XM, now Mr. FCC along with Sen. Sam Brownback are questioning whether media made that kid across the street fat? We're not sure if participation in this study was mandatory but some of media's biggest players are playing along, we guess to look like they care. Media huh? And all this time we thought the cause of fat kids was due to lazy ass parents who would rather plop down in front of the TV to watch Jeopardy instead of cooking a healthy meal for their kids. I am concerned about links between media, advertising and children's health, but I do not necessarily think that more government regulation is the answer," Brownback said in a statement. "I'm hopeful that this task force will forge a voluntary, public-private partnership to effectively address the pressing issue of media and child health." Media face obesity probe [Variety]

FCC puts the kibosh on Mel Karmazin's comeback

Mel Karmazin probably would love to kick the crap out of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin for putting up a road block that could well..........block any chance of a merger between Karmazin's Sirius and XM. This was probably Karmazin's way of coming back in a big way being that when he left Viacom, he landed at the much smaller Sirius as CEO. The XM side however publicly denied any talks about a merger and even said a merger wouldn't happen. But we all know money talks and bullshit walks and a deal would have happened this year. Hey you never know, Mel does have some tricks up his sleeve. Message to Wall Street warriors excited about the prospects of a merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio: Stuff a sock in it. It ain’t gonna happen. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin didn’t use those exact words Wednesday morning (Jan. 17) when he chatted with reporters after the commission’s monthly open meeting, but he made it clear that FCC regulations created when the satellite radio service was conceived more than a decade ago clearly state that “two satellite radio operators [must] remain in place,” Martin said. Its only a matter of time until until Kevin Martin starts to tell Howard Stern what to say. Who is this guy? FCC Nixes Prospect of Sirius-XM Merger [Meediaweek]

Martin's rule extended for another five years

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has been tapped to make mountains out of mole hills for another 5 years. Martin has been chairman of the agency since March 2005 and an FCC commissioner since 2001. We can only imagine the pass this guy is going to give to media bigs in his second round paving the way for us to eventually get our news, entertainment and information from one company wait........... News Corp already provides this. Senate confirms FCC's Martin for new term [Reuters]