Reply #78: One more story about Ferree from American Progress/Alterman [View All]

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http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=569645

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The anti-democratic bias goes even deeper. According to the Center for Public Integrity, when the FCC was deciding how to go about loosening restrictions on media ownership back in 2002, it based its market research primarily on analyses not available to the public. This private data was only released to public interest groups after the FCC issued a "protective order" designed to keep the information secret.

Who made the decision to hide the data from the public? Coincidentally, it was Ferree himself. He personally stipulated that the data be made available only to "authorized representatives" and those "designated by the commission in the public interest." In order to have access to the data, viewers had to swear, in writing, not to share it, and were only able to view the data at FCC headquarters and were not allowed to make copies.

Now that Ferree has left the FCC and is in charge of public broadcasting, we can expect an accelerated commitment to the very policies that the public, Congress and courts all rejected as anti-democratic and contrary to the public interest. Given the power and influence he will be able to exercise on some of our most precious public resources, you'd think it might be worth a story … somewhere.

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