Technical Difficulties

At 1:40 p.m. the FCC’s New York field hearing on access to the media had yet to be accessible via the FCC’s web link to the audiocast. Now we know why.

While the FCC has become reknowned for delayed meeting openings under FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, an FCC spokesman said the hearing had actually begun, but that there were problems with the audiocast.

Turns out the problems aren’t going to be fixed. A notice in red letters on the Web site announced that "Due to technical difficulties we are not able to provide a live audio webcast of today’s hearing in New York City. We expect to make an archived webcast available from this page as soon as possible, which we will announce publicly."

The hearing is looking for ways to help minorities, women and small businesses boost their media profiles in a tough broadcast economy and with the historically high barriers to entry.

Those of us hoping to access that capital hearing remotely will have to take their word for it.