FCC chairman says he's staying, despite criticism

WASHINGTON -- Soon after joining the Federal Communications Commission, Michael Powell said one of his mottos would be: "Fight with ideas and not emotion."

His efforts to ease rules governing media ownership are prompting plenty of emotional debate -- and lots of criticism of Powell. So much that Powell met with top aides after returning from vacation Monday and assured them he won't quit.

"The chairman is aware of the speculation in the press and industry about his future," said Jonathan Cody, Powell's special policy adviser. Powell "assured senior staff that it is his firm intention to continue to lead the commission and implement our agenda."

Easing rules

Powell, a champion of deregulation who critics say is too pro-big business, rose from commissioner to chairman when President Bush took office in 2001. His term isn't over until 2007.

Powell succeeded in getting his Republican-dominated FCC to ease decades-old rules governing ownership of newspapers and television and radio stations. The party-line vote on June 2 approved changes that allow individual companies to own TV stations reaching nearly half the nation's viewers and combinations of newspapers and broadcast outlets in the same community.

The vote has become a magnet for those concerned that a few large companies control too much of the news and entertainment people see, hear and read.

"He's in trouble," said Gene Kimmelman, public policy director for Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. "He's demonstrated he doesn't have a clear sense of the politics on Capitol Hill."

Powell has defended his long-held position that media consolidation doesn't necessarily harm diversity, arguing there is more variety in the nation's media landscape than ever before.

Cody said Powell is looking beyond the media ownership debate and "is energized to get on to the rest of the agenda."

Powell, 40, is the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell. Low-key like his father, his first two years as FCC chairman were relatively free of turmoil.

That changed in February when fellow Republican Kevin Martin joined the two Democratic commissioners in a vote involving the leasing of telephone networks.

That 3-2 vote retained rules requiring regional Bell companies to lease parts of their local networks at discount rates to competitors such as AT&T Corp. Powell and the Bells wanted the rules eliminated.

Powell's relationships with Democrats Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps have been strained. The Democrats were particularly upset when Powell rejected their repeated requests to delay the media ownership vote to allow more public comment.

The government adopted the ownership rules between 1941 and 1975 to encourage competition and prevent monopoly control of the media. In 1996, Congress required the FCC to review the rules every two years and repeal or modify any regulation determined no longer in the public interest.

Earlier proposed changes were sent back to the FCC after court challenges brought by media companies.

Powell did "exactly what the courts and Congress told him he had to do -- come up with rules that more accurately reflect a diverse, 21st century marketplace," said Ken Johnson, spokesman for Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Tauzin is one of Powell's biggest supporters in Congress.

Surprising setback

Many in Congress feel differently.

The House dealt Powell a surprising setback last month when it passed a spending bill that included a provision preventing a single company from owning enough television stations to reach more than 35 percent of the nation's viewers. Before the vote, the White House threatened to veto any final bill that contains language rolling back the TV ownership cap from the 45 percent level set by the FCC.

Republicans who support the changes are hoping the veto threat will help them strip the provision from a final House-Senate compromise bill this fall.

Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., who are leading a group of senators trying to undo all the FCC changes, say they oppose Powell's position on media ownership, but have no problem with him personally or as chairman.

"The most important relationship is the relationship with the White House," said Blair Levin, a former FCC official who is an analyst with the Legg Mason investment firm. "If they lose confidence in him, then he has to go. But I certainly see no signs that that's the case."