Inclusion or Illusion? An Analysis of the FCC's Public Hearings on Media Ownership 2006-2007

An assessment of the extent of public involvement in the FCC's media ownership hearings in 2006-07 was conducted through an analysis of the hearings' structure, the 732 public comments made in them, and the FCC's ensuing Report Order (RO). In light of the rising call for pluralism, direct democracy and public involvement in policy deliberations, the results reveal that the FCC consistently hindered public participation in the hearing process it initiated and managed through limited advance notice, inconvenient timing, a hearing structure that subordinated the public to experts and stakeholders, and scarce mention of public comment in the final report.