As Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, brings his charade of a public hearing to Seattle this Friday, there are two questions that he should be forced this answer.

The first is if he thinks media consolidation is harmful to minority ownership?

The second is whether he has already written his new ownership rules?

The answer to question one is obvious. Of course media consolidation is harmful to minority ownership. There is no disputing that. The evidence shows that as markets become more concentrated, minority ownership declines. But the chairman seems to be pretending that minority ownership and media consolidation are completely separate issues.

If the chairman issues new rules as soon as next week – with a vote before Christmas – which many believe he will do, then there is no possible way that he could have reviewed all the public comments still coming in or have carefully examined the econometric research conducted in reply to the commission’s slanted ownership studies.

Don’t let Kevin Martin’s boyish looks fool you. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s moving full-speed ahead, treating the American public as props in the spectacle he has carefully orchestrated. And he’s betting that this time you’re not paying attention.