FCC chairman to get fat congressional probe
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Mar 13th 2008 7:15AM
posted Mar 13th 2008 7:15AM
Gulp. FCC chairman Kevin Martin is prepping for a big ol' congressional probe this morning. Martin received a letter today warning that he is being investigated for, "management practices that may adversely affect the Commission's ability to both discharge effectively its statutory duties and to guard against waste, fraud, and abuse." Martin, you'll recall, was recently accused of being in Verizon's back pocket during its attempt to revise the 700MHz open-access rule. The investigation is prompted by allegations made by "credible" FCC employees, both current and former, so far reaching -- including its handling of Comcast and the so-called, 70-percent ruling -- that Ars Technica expects it to turn the "FCC upside down." Martin has two weeks to deliver "a truckload" of records to Congress before this revolution gets televised.
Fat Probe?
Looks like he's on his way outta there.
I thought this guy was doing good, but I guess one never really knows what the real story is.
Looks like a fat probe is EXACTLY what his boney ass needs.
Maybe, just maybe, we will see the massive corruption exposed. I can only hope this will lead to the American public watching the heads of the telcos shitting bricks live on TV. We'll see...
Is it anything like the probe Eric Cartman got in the first season of South Park?
while they're at it they should investigate them selves for all the kick backs from the nba over the xm sirius merger.
I guess that means no XM SIRIUS announcement for another year while they divert resources!!!
sad but true. The FCC lets ClearChannel run rampant in its quest gobble up all radio stations and control all concert venues but puts the XM-Sirius merger under an electron microscope?
You guys have got to be kidding "telco's shaking in their boots"?
Kevin Martin is in hot water precisely because he WAS NOT in with the telco's. Think about what he's made the news for:
net neutrality
actually enforcing net neutrality (comcast investigation)
700Mhz open access rules
a la carte programming
cable card (and enforcing it)
The telco's and cable companies hate this guy. "former employees" is code for we bought someone to fabricate some stuff, tarnish his reputation, and hopefully force a resignation without any real evidence. It's easy to find "former employees" with an axe to grind, throw a littl money in the mix, and they'll turn into song birds.
While that may be true (which honestly I don't really know), during his tenure as chair of the FCC the only thing on that list that he's managed to do with some success is the 700 MHz open access rules, and we still don't know how that is going to fall out. Everything else was a nonstarter. There's no a la carte programming available, the cable companies and CableLabs are still way too restrictive with CableCard, and net neutrality still doesn't exist. Not to mention allowing ClearChannel to get bigger and all but control the radio. To me, he sounds like every other chair before him.
He sounds like every other chair, because, like you mentioned, you haven't paid any attention to anything he's done or advocated.
"Advocating" and "doing" are two different things. He may have "advocated" everything on your list. But as I stated in my original post, the only thing he's "done" is the 700 MHz open-access rules. It's not that I'm oblivious; I just think actions mean more than words.
BOHICA - Bend over here it comes again.
...FCC chairman to get fat congressional ANAL probe. (I hate dirty politicians and the women who love them)
Doesn't he look like a suit-n-tie version of Russel Crow ?!?
Nope
Wow, Kevin Martin corrupt? Who EVER would have seen that coming?!
All sarcasm aside, good riddance to bad rubbish. Maybe now the freakin' FCC will finally take net neutrality seriously.
you have high hopes
Please, get someone to deregulate cable and DSL to markets and open them up for DOCSIS 3! Improve our customer service with telecom! Bring on competition!
Andy, you've got your head right up your a$$. Martin, along with the other two republicans on the FCC board, voted to remove a 30+ year old law separating print news media and TV. I suppose you believe that a further consolidation in news sources is a good idea?
One of the two Democrats on the FCC board had this to say about it; "'Today the Federal Communications Commission empowers America's new media elite with unacceptable levels of influence over the ideas and information upon which our society and our democracy depend,' said Commissioner Michael Copps."
http://money.cnn.com/2003/06/02/news/companies/fcc_rules/