Michael Powell stepping down as head of FCC, officials say

Ted Bridis

Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 | 9:50 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell plans to step down from the job he's held for four years, two agency officials said today.

Powell, who maintained a light regulatory hand as the nation's chief media watchdog but collected some of the largest indecency fines against U.S. broadcasters, planned to issue a statement today but was not expected to hold a formal news conference, these officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Powell, the son of departing Secretary of State Colin Powell, does not plan to step down immediately, the officials said. However, he will leave soon.

Powell privately informed some industry officials that he planned to make the announcement, according to one person who spoke with the chairman earlier this week. This person also spoke on condition of anonymity.

Powell, a champion of deregulation who critics say is too pro-big business, rose from commissioner to chairman when Bush took office in 2001. His term was to run until 2007.

While tackling complex issue ranging from telephone competition to rules for media ownership, Powell is perhaps best known for overseeing a dramatic crackdown on broadcast indecency that began before the infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during singer Janet Jackson's Super Bowl halftime performance last February.

The FCC received more than 1 million indecency complaints in 2004, most of them involving Jackson. CBS is contesting a proposed FCC fine of $550,000 for the incident.

Fines for indecent programming exceeded $7.7 million last year, a huge increase from the $48,000 imposed the year before Powell became chairman. Powell has praised the record fines, saying the commission was "wielding our sword" to protect children and viewers who object to racy programming.

"It's the most uncomfortable area you'd ever want to work in, enforcement," Powell said of indecency fines at a July 2004 symposium. "I'm a big believer in the First Amendment, but often I'm incredibly uneasy about lines we have to draw. No one takes pleasure in trying to decide whether this potty-mouth word or that potty-mouth word is a violation of the law."

However, critics claimed Powell and the FCC are seeking to stifle free speech and intimidate broadcasters into following a more conservative agenda.

Powell succeeded in getting the Republican-dominated FCC to ease decades-old rules governing ownership of newspapers and television and radio stations. The commission approved changes in 2003 that allow individual companies to own TV stations reaching nearly half the nation's viewers and combinations of newspapers and broadcast outlets in the same community.

Major media companies said the changes were needed because the old regulations hindered their ability to grow and compete in a market altered by cable television, satellite broadcasting and the Internet.

But lawmakers from both parties and a broad range of groups criticized the changes, saying the FCC regulations give large media companies too much control over what people see, hear and read.

Congress and the courts are considering several efforts to modify or repeal the rules.