Radio Ink, January 23, 2008

"It is as if we promised to deliver a book but produced only the cover," says FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein about the FCC's report and notice of proposed rulemaking on localism, released Tuesday.

After saying the report "literally does nothing meaningful to promote localism," Adelstein writes, "This localism proceeding continues to be used as political cover for the commission to weaken broadcast ownership rules and permit more media consolidation. Make no mistake, the only real actions we are taking today will undercut localism, diversity, and competition."

He continues, however, "While there are no new rules established in this notice, there are proposals worthy of adoption. I fully support the tentative conclusion in this notice that each licensee should establish a permanent community advisory board. "

But he's skeptical that anything will ever come of it. Adelstein says, "If history is any guide, the odds are that the commission will either neglect to finalize these proposals, or when it comes time to finalize them, they may be so diluted as to render them meaningless."

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