The debate over media ownership issues has no doubt generated a lot of
smoke and mirrors from all sides. But
Walt Disney
Company Chairman Michael Eisner’s letter to the FCC last week
appears to take the cake.
Eisner asked the FCC for a three-month extension of the rulemaking
process so that the public can become better informed of what’s at
stake. "I heard about this public comment opportunity through word of
mouth, " Eisner wrote. “The major networks have done very little to
inform the public of this extremely important issue.”
As the presumably astute man who presides over the media
conglomerate that owns the
ABC network, it
might come as a shocking surprise that Eisner is not only out of the
loop on the media ownership debate, but hasn’t noticed that his own
network has barely mentioned it in its news coverage.
“The lack of coverage of this issue by the major media companies
has at least the appearance of a conflict of interest,” Eisner wrote.
“This inaction on the part of the major media companies threatens to
undermine the legitimacy of the FCC’s regulatory process. This leaves
the FCC exposed to litigation that would have to be defended at the
expense of the taxpayer.”