Report Slams FCC Chairman
11:30 AM --
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin got taken to the woodshed this week in the form of a 110-page House committee staff report
finding that Martin abused Commission procedures by manipulating or suppressing reports, data, and other information.
Moreover, the report, published following a year-long probe, cited an apparent breakdown of "an open and transparent regulatory process" at the FCC, and that Martin's "heavy-handed, opaque and non-collegial management style has created distrust, suspicion, and turmoil among the five current commissioners."
The report also accused Martin of manipulating data tied to cable ownership data and the purported benefits of an à la carte programming regime. (See NCTA to FCC: 'Hands Off!' )
In an email, FCC spokesman Robert Kenny noted that the Commission is reviewing the report. "It appears that the Committee did not find or conclude that there were any violations of rules, laws or procedures following a year-long investigation," he noted. "Chairman Martin has followed the same procedures that have been followed for the past 20 years by FCC Chairmen, both Democratic and Republican alike."
— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News
Moreover, the report, published following a year-long probe, cited an apparent breakdown of "an open and transparent regulatory process" at the FCC, and that Martin's "heavy-handed, opaque and non-collegial management style has created distrust, suspicion, and turmoil among the five current commissioners."
The report also accused Martin of manipulating data tied to cable ownership data and the purported benefits of an à la carte programming regime. (See NCTA to FCC: 'Hands Off!' )
In an email, FCC spokesman Robert Kenny noted that the Commission is reviewing the report. "It appears that the Committee did not find or conclude that there were any violations of rules, laws or procedures following a year-long investigation," he noted. "Chairman Martin has followed the same procedures that have been followed for the past 20 years by FCC Chairmen, both Democratic and Republican alike."
— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News
