Who is Watching the Watchdog?

In the section of the text titled "Who is Watching the Watchdog?" by John Dunbar, he discusses the issues of the "spinning door", "frequent flying", and what goes on "behind closed doors". These terms serve to discuss the controversial relationship between the FCC agency and the media industries.

Firstly, the "spinning door" refers to the "revolving door" syndrome. This is when FCC officials leave the FCC and begin working in the media industry. This "spinning door" refers to this discovery that former FCC officials were very common in the media industry, and vice versa. "Frequent Flying" refers to the financial link between the agency and the industry. The text talks about a study that showed "that the FCC had accepted nearly $28 million from outside sources in travel and entertainment over eight years, most of it from the telecommunications and broadcast industries the agency regulates." It is very interesting that the FCC would be receiving money from industries that it plays such a big role in creating laws for. It makes the money appear as if it could be a bribe. Upon looking into this, the relationship is suspiciously inappropriate. "Behind closed doors" has to do with what goes on in the private meetings between the FCC and the industry. The meetings are so private in fact, they are not recorded and the participants do not need to keep detailed minutes of the sessions. This is another example of the strange friendliness between the two organizations, and makes one suspicious of any intentions for keeping the best interest of the public in mind.

It is very interesting that Chairman Powell, a huge supporter of deregulation, believes that the industries great influence over the FCC has gone too far. In reference to what's been said on this issue since 2003, I found an article from September, 2008 in which the author talks about how he is "skeptical of making the FCC the nation's network neutrality cop." He talks about a case from earlier that month where Catherine Bohigian, chief of the office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis at the Federal Communications Commission stepped down. Her next job would be with cable giant Cablevision. Most likely, she would use her personal knowledge of the regulatory process and even her ties to other FCC staff members in order to gain regulatory advantages for Cablevision. This article suggests to me that despite Chairman Powell's statement, this "revolving door" is still a common process, and goes on under the radar of most everyday media consumers.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080831/0618342133.shtml