**Opening Statement Of**

**FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin**

**Public Hearing on Media Ownership**

**Nashville, Tennessee**

**December 11, 2006**

Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today. And, thank you to
Commissioner Tate for her all of her hard, hard work putting together
this hearing and for making us feel right at home here in Nashville. I
can't think of a better place to go than Music City to hear various
views on media ownership and its impact on the music industry.

As you know, we began a comprehensive review of our rules governing
media ownership this past summer. This hearing is the second in a series
of six media ownership hearings the Commission intends to hold across
the country. We held the first of these hearings in Los Angeles in
October. The goal of these hearings is to more fully and directly
involve the American people in the process. I have said many times
before, but it bears repeating, public input is critical to our process.

The decisions we will make about our ownership rules will be as
difficult as they are critical. The media touches almost every aspect of
our lives. We are dependent upon it for our news, our information and
our entertainment. Indeed, the opportunity to express diverse viewpoints
lies at the heart of our democracy.

The Commission has three core goals that our rules are intended to
further; competition, diversity and localism. I recognize many of the
concerns expressed about increased consolidation and preservation of
diversity. Also critical to our review is exploring and understanding
the competitive realities of the media marketplace. Some of our rules
have not been updated for years and may no longer reflect the current
marketplace. Indeed, the Third Circuit recognized this fact when it
upheld the Commission's elimination of the newspaper/broadcast
cross-ownership ban. It is our task then to respond to the Court by
ensuring that our ownership rules take into account the competitive
environment in which media companies operate and promote localism and
diversity.

We are still in the beginning phases of this review of our ownership
rules. We are working to develop a record, with hearings like this one
today and through the written comment process, on which to inform our
decisions.

I am pleased that we are holding our second hearing here in Nashville.
Nashville is the 30th largest media market in the United States.
Moreover, as the "home of country music," Nashville has become the
epicenter for major music recording and production nationwide. Nashville
is home to many recording artists, as well as nearly a dozen broadcast
television stations, several dozen FM and AM radio stations, including
five college stations and one LPFM station, several cable networks, two
daily newspapers and over a dozen weekly newspapers.

I also want to briefly touch upon an issue of interest to many of you
here today -- payola. The FCC has longstanding rules prohibiting payola.
These rules serve the important purpose of ensuring that the listening
public knows when someone is seeking to influence them. Broadcasters
must comply with these rules. We will take enforcement action if they
uncover violations of the payola rules.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and insights on the subject of
our media ownership rules. Thank you for your participation today.

\- FCC -