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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 18, 2011)
opinion/news Comcast, FCC too Cozy for Comfort “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future now” B eRnie F oSteR Founder/Publisher B oBBie d oRe F oSteR executive editor t ed B anKS advertising Manager J eRRy F oSteR account executive l iSa l oving news editor B Rian S timSon reporter d avid K idd graphic Designer m oniCa J. F oSteR Seattle office Coordinator J ulie K eeFe S uSan F Ried Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 the Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub - lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of the Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2010 the Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. Knowing What’s important Can Change your life! Subscribe to The Skanner – don’t miss an issue! Please sign me up for: q 1 year $74 q 2 year $140 q New Subscription q Renewal ________________________ name _________________ address _________________ City _________________ State ______ ZiP ________ Phone Mail with check or money order to: The Skanner P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 I n January, the Federal Communications Commission approved a controversial deal allowing telecommunications giant Comcast to buy broadcaster NBC. Last week, FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, one of the strongest advocates for the $13.7 billion deal, announced she was leaving the FCC for a top lobbying job with Comcast—NBC. Talk about a hit and run. Here at The Skanner News, it’s hard for us to believe that the fix wasn’t in from the start. It’s hard to believe that Attwell Baker had no idea that she was going to work for this company with- in four months. We suspect this was prearranged early in the game. Federal Comm uni cations Commissioners are supposed to protect the interests of the American public. They are charged with upholding laws designed to curb monopolies, promote fair com- petition and prevent industry abuses. That’s why it matters when a commissioner supports policy that benefits a giant corporation, and then moves into a highly-paid position with that corporation. Something here looks and smells…. What’s to stop future FCC Commissioners from doing favors for the corporations? After all, a few months down the line, they’ll be the next ones in line for an industry lobbying job. Ms. Attwell Baker is hardly the first person to skip through the revolving door between a feder- al agency and the industry it regulates. Former FCC chair Michael Powell now earns millions as the top lobbyist for National Cable and Tele com - muni cations Association, for example. And simi- lar sleazy stories have emerged from the FDA, the Department of the Interior, the EPA and…the list goes on. It’s beyond time for Congress to regulate the regulators. We need a law that makes it illegal for regulators to work for any company they regulate for at least two years. Here in Oregon, the Metropolitan Exposition and Recreation Commission passed a rule that commissioners cannot lobby for industry compa- nies for at least one year after their service. I know because I was one of the Commissioners who made that rule. And we are talking about fairly small budget local government here. Not a F Rom the P uBliSheR Bernie Foster national agency with the power to approve multi- billion dollar deals. The Comcast-NBC deal struck many consumer own most of the cables that deliver this service. And in many parts of the country consumers have no choice of broadband provider, because one com- pany with no compe- tition serves that region. Now imagine that company also owns its own content – as Comcast now owns NBC. Do you really believe that Self-interest tied to corporate interests makes one unfit to serve the public advocates as counter to the public interest for sev- eral reasons. High-speed internet is now a utility, as crucial to families, busi- nesses and communities as gas or electricity. But as previously reported in The Skanner News, a small group of telecom- munication companies (Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and Time Warner Cable) they won’t be tempted to do anything at all to prior- itize NBC content over competitor and independ- ently created content? Ms. Atwell Baker could- n’t see any problem. Instead she argued that consumers would see benefits from the Comcast NBC merger. She said nothing about going to work for Comcast. Of course, she has a right to her opinion. Diversity of opinion is part of any democracy. But as an FCC regulator, she has a duty not to let the prospect of a fat corpo- rate paycheck influence her vote. Frankly, it is now hard to believe she was not just voting the indus- try ticket all the way along. Apologists for this cor- rupt system argue that it is the only way to keep the brightest and best in government. We say: anyone whose self-inter- est is tied to corporate interests is unfit to serve the public. Congress should act immediately to shut the revolving door. Do you think Commissioner Attwell Baker was too cozy with Comcast when she voted in their favor? Yes or No. You can post your comments on www.theskanner.com students continued from page 1 University are trying to raise money to help the Libyan students, said Darin Watkins, a WSU spokesman. A letter sent to Libyan-North American Scholarship Program students at WSU included a list of area social service organizations, including the state Department of Social and Health Services and a food bank. “At this point of uncertainty, you must begin plan- ning for the scholarship program discontinuation,’’ WSU Provost Warwick M. Bayly wrote in the letter. “Unfortunately, WSU is not able to provide stipends, tuition scholarships, free or deferred rent, or health insurance to students and families who had previ- ously received funding’’ through the Canadian Bureau for International Education. Kemale Pinar, director of U.S. Operations for the Canadian Bureau for International Education, which distributes the funds, said she could not comment on the problems. The CBIE sent a letter to its students last week warning that it was running out of funds. “It is important for CBIE to prepare for a scenario in which we do not receive new funding by May 31 and therefore we are currently exploring ways to pay for June health insurance premiums and monthly liv- ing allowances,’’’ the letter said. In March, the U.N. froze Libyan assets in an attempt to keep them from Gadhafi. The Libyan-North American Scholarship Program is a joint collaboration between Libya, Canada and host universities in Canada and the United States. Candace Chenoweth, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars at WSU, said university leaders are meeting with students to dis- cuss legal options that would allow them to remain in the U.S., if the funding remains frozen. may 18, 2011 The Seattle Skanner Page 3
