Free Market or FIXED Market?

When it comes to making the rules, it helps to have a little help from your friends at the FCC, at least if you are Big Media. With friends like the FCC, it's no wonder that we seem to be stuck with such a homogenized media landscape. After all, the last thing Big Media wants is actual competition.

According to the L.A. Times and the GAO, the fix is in:

WASHINGTON -- From giant phone companies to small consumer advocates, the Federal Communications Commission is supposed to treat every group equally. But congressional investigators have found some companies and trade groups have received special treatment.

FCC officials tipped them off to confidential information about when regulators planned to vote on important issues -- a clear violation of agency rules that provided an unfair lobbying advantage, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office released today. Other interested parties -- generally consumer and public-interest groups -- did not get such favorable treatment, the report said.

"It is critical that FCC maintain an environment in which all stakeholders have an equal opportunity to participate in the rulemaking process and that the process is perceived as fair and transparent," the report said. "Situations where some, but not all, stakeholders know what FCC is considering for an upcoming vote undermine the fairness and transparency of the process and constitute a violation of FCC's rules."

With oversight of many aspects of telephone, TV, radio and Internet services, the FCC has a major effect on people's lives. Its decisions also can affect entire sectors of the telecommunications industry. Privileged information, leaked in violation of FCC rules, could give some companies and organizations advantages when trying to sway the commission, the GAO said.

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The period covered the chairmanships of Michael Powell and current head Kevin J. Martin.

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"FCC officials told us that, for stakeholders to successfully make their case before FCC, 'timing is everything,' " the report said. "Specifically, if a stakeholder knows that a proposed rule has been scheduled for a vote and may be voted on in three weeks, that stakeholder can schedule a meeting with FCC officials before the rule is voted on."

Those who don't know about an upcoming vote until the agenda is announced are frozen out of lobbying by the one-week prohibition, the GAO said.

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In addition to the case studies, several businesses or groups said they were tipped off about upcoming votes by FCC staff. "One stakeholder -- representing a large organization that is involved in numerous rulemakings -- told us that FCC staff call them and tell them what items are scheduled for a vote," the report said.