[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81 (Friday, April 27, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21012-21013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-8193]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Public Information Collection Requirement Submitted to OMB for 
Emergency Review and Approval

April 25, 2007.
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. An agency may not conduct or 
sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for 
failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid control 
number. Comments are requested concerning (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the Commission, including whether the information 
shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's 
burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

DATES: Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be 
submitted on or before May 4, 2007. If you anticipate that you will be 
submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period 
of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the contacts listed 
below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Jasmeet K. Seehra, Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), Room 10236 NEOB, Washington, DC 20503, 
(202) 395-3123, or via fax at (202) 395-5167 or via Internet at 
[email protected] and to Cathy Williams, Federal 
Communications Commission, Room 1-C823, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC. If you would like to obtain or view a copy of this 
information collection, you may do so by visiting the FCC PRA Web page 
at: http://www.fcc.gov/omd/pra.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection(s), contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918 or via the Internet at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission is requesting emergency OMB 
processing of this information collection and has requested OMB 
approval by May 8, 2007.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-XXXX.
    Title: How People Get News and Information--Media Ownership Study 
1.
    Form No.: Not applicable.
    Type of Review: New collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or household.
    Number of Respondents: 3,000 respondents; 3,000 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.25-0.3333333 hours (15 to 20 
minutes).
    Frequency of Response: One time reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Voluntary.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,000 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $58,000.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: An assurance of 
confidentiality is not offered because this information collection does 
not require the collection of personal identifiable information (PII) 
from individuals.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: Not applicable.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission is seeking emergency processing of 
this information collection by May 8, 2007.
    This collection is part of the Commission's on-going review of its 
media ownership rules. This review began in June 2006 when the 
Commission opened a new phase of a rulemaking proceeding that concerns 
its major broadcast ownership rules.
    In July 2006 the Commission began to seek comment on how to address 
the issues raised by the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Third Circuit in Prometheus v. FCC and on whether the media ownership 
rules are ``necessary in the public interest as the result of 
competition.'' The Commission has six broadcast ownership rules (the 
national television multiple ownership rule, the local television 
multiple ownership rule, the radio/television cross-ownership rule, the 
dual network rule, the local radio ownership rule, and the newspaper/
broadcast cross-ownership rule) that the public was invited to comment 
on.
    The Commission particularly asked commenters to address the impact 
of various ownership rules on minorities, women, and small businesses. 
We also urged commenters to discuss the potential effects, if any, of 
the broadcast ownership rules currently in effect, and the effect of 
any changes on advertising markets, the ability of independent stations 
to compete, the availability of family-friendly and children's 
programming, the amount of indecent and/or violent content broadcast 
over-the-air, and the availability of independent programming.
    Congress has also indicated a high level of interest in the topic 
of media ownership. One evidence of this is an August 1, 2006, letter 
to Chairman Martin that was signed by 84 members of the House of 
Representatives. These members expressed their view that ``access to 
diverse sources of information is necessary to maintain the informed 
citizenry that is crucial to a functioning democracy.'' And, they 
encouraged the Commission ``to invite the greatest level of public 
participation possible in your deliberation of new ownership rules.'' 
To do this the Commission decided to hold public hearings on this topic 
and conducted such hearings in Los Angeles (October 2006), Nashville 
(December 2006), Harrisburg, PA (February 2007). A public hearing will 
be held in Tampa on April 30, 2007, and additional public meetings are 
also planned.
    Finally, to supplement the information received from the public and 
Congress, the Commission also decided (November 2006) to sponsor ten 
economic studies on media ownership rules. This information collection 
relates to the first of these studies--``How People Get News and 
Information.'' This study will be conducted by Nielsen Media Research 
under contract to the Commission. It will be conducted as a phone 
survey of 3,000 consumers and will ask questions about their use of 
media. It will identify consumers' primary, secondary, and tertiary 
sources of news and information; whether these sources change depending 
on the time of day or day of the week; and the frequency with which 
consumers access these sources.
    Understanding whether consumers rely most heavily on traditional 
broadcast and print media outlets versus newer media sources such as 
the Internet will help the Commission fully understand the realities of 
today's market. This will allow the Commission, the Administration, and 
Congress to make decisions on media ownership based on current, on-the-
ground realities and not on old

[[Page 21013]]

assumptions. Because of the rapid change in the media arena in just the 
past 12 months, relying on data collected more than a few months ago--
much less data gathered years ago--would likely produce a picture of 
media use that bears little resemblance to current reality. Failure to 
gather this information in a timely way can lead to a misinformed 
Commission, Congress, and public--leading to the possibility of 
inappropriate or ineffective public policy. The complete OMB submission 
may be found on the RegInfo.Gov Web site which is located at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Those interested in reading this 
collection should select the Federal Communications Commission in the 
``Currently Under Review'' section of this web page. Interested parties 
should then look for the new, unnumbered collection that is named ``How 
People Get News and Information--Media Ownership Study 1.'' 
Alternatively, interested parties can also look for the collection of 
this name on the Commission's PRA Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/omd/pra/.

    Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-8193 Filed 4-26-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P