Monday, December 17, 2007

FCC Contact Information Update-- Seems things are Tricky

I received several calls today telling me that when the person called the clever number from the FCC website (1-888-CALL-FCC), they were told that this wasn't a number for comments, or to talk about FCC issues.

Go figure.

The FCC doesn't make it easy for the public to communicate-- ironic that communications is their middle name.

So with a few more clicks on their site I have found the following information from the "finding people at the FCC page":
The phone number of the chair (who is the man pushing the vote to end the ban on cross-ownership, allowing big media even greater hegemony)
Martin Kevin (202) 418-1000
The phone number for
Robert McDowell is 202.418.2200. Word has it that McDowell is not wild about lifting the ban, and polite calls to him are probably a great idea.
The phone number for
Deborah Taylor Tate is 202.418.2500. It's unclear if she supports lifting the ban at this time, she probably needs to hear some opinions.
The phone number for
Jonathan Adelstein is 202.418.2300. He has said publicly that rushing this vote through is a big mistake, he doesn't support lifting the ban-- always good to call and say thanks (how often to FCC Commissioners hear that?).
The phone number for
Michael Copps is 202.418.2000. Along with Adelstein, Copps has spoken strongly against lifting the ban-- thank him, too.

You can email each commissioner from his / her contact page, just click their name above and scroll to the bottom, where you'll see a link to an online form for comments, marked "email".

Seems to me that the number listed at the bottom of each page of the FCC's website (that is 1-888-CALL-FCC) might be a number that the public could call to try to communicate with the commission, but what do I know? Just seems to me that it shouldn't be this hard; it's almost like the some in the commission don't like being in touch with the people, as it were.

Thanks to everyone that has contacted them, or is going to contact them in the morning. I really want to hear your experience, if you are able to get through to any staffers.

Good luck!

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