The Hill: FCC's Clyburn calls for public hearings on NBC/Comcast merger

by Tony Romm

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on Tuesday said she believed her colleagues should hold public hearings on the proposed NBC-Comcast mega-merger.

At an event hosted by Free Press, Clyburn described field hearings as the only way for the "commission to interact and see up close how Americans feel" about the deal, which the FCC still must approve.

"Obviously, we do not have the resources to travel the country, getting individual views from every city and town," the commissioner said. "But we do have the resources to hold more than one hearing in places where people are affected..."

So far, the FCC has not yet signaled whether it will include public hearings as part of its merger review. That process is still in its early stages, as the FCC's request in April Comcast provide detailed information about the merger's economic effects has extended the public comment period until at least July.

Still, Clyburn's signal of support for public hearings follows a similar request aired last week by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and 45 other lawmakers, many of whom belong to the Congressional Black Caucus.

"I have been concerned about media consolidation and a lack of programming and ownership diversity in media for years," Rep Waters said after she delivered the letter to the FCC, which contained about six pagers' worth of questions for the two companies.

"Comcast is the nation's largest provider of cable and internet services, so the merger's impact will affect virtually every American," she continued. "My colleagues and I want the FCC to conduct a thorough review of the Comcast-NBC merger, including public hearings, and to have our questions answered in a timely and substantive manner."