Acting FCC Commissioner thanked lone Republican Robert McDowell for his remarks on Commission procedures while it awaits the arrival of a new permanent chair. However, while he does intend to open up lines of communications, he said he would leave long-term organizational decisions for that person. For one thing, Copps said he would try to make it possible to anticipate the dates of FCC Open Meetings by making them on or as close to the first Thursday of each month as possible.
That is where he drew the line, while stressing that he did not tacitly disagree with McDowell’s proposals. “A couple of the interesting and promising ideas you put forward – such as reworking our Strategic Plan and conducting very extensive Commission audits – are initiatives that I believe would be more appropriately conducted under the auspices of a new Chairman.”
RBR/TVBR observation: Copps has never been shy about expressing his displeasure with indecent programming and other problems allegedly associated with corporate ownership of broadcast facilities. It is refreshing to know that he recognizes limits in his current capacity as acting chair. It will be even more interesting to see just where he draws the line – although we suspect in many cases Copps’ line will be nothing more nor less than a preview of where the next chair will be going anyway.
