• B&C, et al, Sunday, May 2, 2010 11:26 PM

The FCC will be an "active partner" in supporting public media as one response to a crisis in journalism, says FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, but added "this agency cannot and should not dictate programming," notes B&C. Supporting an independent press, he said any FCC action must be "in the full spirit of the First Amendment," adding that "nothing should ever be done to hobble the independence of the press." He called public media the jewel of American broadcasting, amazed at what they did with the "poverty" of funding for the system.

Another hot FCC topic is broadband spectrum. The agency has asked broadcasters to voluntarily release some of theirs -- which is strongly opposed by the industry. Genachowski notes that the entire solution for more spectrum didn't rest solely on the sale of broadcast spectrum, but included the development of new spectrum technologies for more efficiency and flexibility, reports Mobilized TV. "These are all necessary but not sufficient," he said. " We need more spectrum for mobile internet access."

Two weeks ago, Multichannel News reported Genachowski told an NAB meeting the  spectrum reclamation plan will not prevent the deployment of mobile DTV: "I'm pleased that the DTV transition has enabled the development of standards and the launch of market trials for mobile DTV," he said. "Our job is not to predict innovation or business models, but to enable them.

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