“Report on Broadcast Localism and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” (PDF Copy)
Its available here (search for “localism” - the release date is January 24, 2008), along with all 116,490 comments that have been submitted as part of the required public comment process (the list of comments are under the link for MB Docket 04-233).
Even though the time frame for the comment process - 30 days for initial comments and an addition 30 days for response comments, or something like that - expired a year ago, the comments keep coming in, probably because of the internet advocacy that both supporters and opponents of this issue set up (more on that later).
I haven’t had to work with the regulatory comment process recently, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised by how many comments there are on hot-button issues like one: radio “localism”, which opponents consider to be a stealth version of the fairness doctrine and which supporters consider to be, well, a stealth version of the fairness doctrine.
Both sides were well mobilized and just randomly sampling about 20 of the comments I found a handful of form letters/e-mails from each side. For example, the Christian broadcasting folks must have called their army out to deluge the FCC with multiple copies of the same canned response, this one from Maria McFadden of Rock Hill, S.C.:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520195162)
That was sent by e-mail, I guess, but one that was, apparently, either submitted in print or faxed, from Susan Hollins of Slater, S.C. (there must have been a recent push on this issue in South Carolina) is:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520201745)
The other side of the issue also had their form letters, all using the anti-media consolidation issue, like this one from Theresa DeLeon of Pecos, N.M.:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520195117)
Sandra Hoffstram of Plymouth, M.N. sent the same identical message:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520194629)
(You can search for these individual’s names on the FCC comment page I listed above).
When I say “identical” I mean just that - word for word, so I googled “rules are about bringing greater transparency” and found this auto-comment page from StopBigMedia.Com.
Some of the non-form letter messages are on this FCC comment page are, um, less than erudite:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520199636)
However, there may be hope for the democratic process, as this one is a scan of an actually handwritten letter:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520213967)
Actually, it’s a single, fourteen-page PDF scan of several letters, actually, some handwritten, some obviously typed on manual typewriters:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520213967)
and a few which are scanned images of signed form letters. They are all from different parts of the country. Why were they grouped together as a singled document when every canned e-mail comment I found is its own “comment”? Hmmmm....
The e-mailed comments seem to greatly outweigh the actual written ones, and the proof in the pudding that no humans actually read the e-mailed comments is that several of the ones I found are spam, like this one from some sex site:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520192299)
And this one from a torrent site:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520196617)
and something that I don’t know what it is:
(http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520196276)
But for that one, the listed “attorney/author” name and the mailing address on that (search for "229" on the master list of comments) should be a dead giveaway:
Democracy in/action!!!
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