FCC Taps Annenberg for Community Needs Study

The FCC has chosen the Annenberg School at USC to review the current state of the "critical information needs" of the public.

According to an FCC official -- the public notice of the choice had not yet been released -- it is essentially a study of studies. It is conducted every three years to"inform the Commission's (Section 257) report to Congress on barriers to participation in the communications industy by entrepreneurs and small businesses.

"I commend the Chairman and the Commission on this exploration and beginning the process of determining what barriers, if any, may exist in providing content and services to American communities," said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.