Media Bureau turns one

The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau celebrated its first anniversary Monday.

The bureau was formed by the merger of the Mass Media and Cable Services bureaus by FCC chairman Michael Powell -- one of several changes instigated by Powell's agency-modernization drive.

"The converging technologies of the broadcasting and cable-television industries increasingly raise policy issues that require expertise in both areas," Media Bureau chief Ken Ferree said.

The bureau is currently preparing recommendations for a sweeping overhaul of media-ownership rules.

Also on its list of responsibilities is overseeing the transition to digital television.

Bureau staff used the anniversary to tout its accomplishments. The biggest included approving the Comcast Corp.-AT&T Broadband merger and rejecting EchoStar Communications Corp.'s acquisition of DirecTV Inc.