Letter From the Director

In Praise of Copps

As Commissioner Copps ends his term at the FCC, I wanted to take a minute to join the chorus of voices acknowledging his inspiring leadership. In casual conversation recently I’ve asked many of my colleagues in Washington – some of whom have been in this town for decades – how they’re getting along these days.  It’s difficult to hear over and again their sentiment that this is the worst they’ve ever seen things in D.C.  Partisan rancor stops good ideas in their tracks, politicians enrich themselves and their cronies at the public’s expense, corporations have a stranglehold on our government.  These problems aren’t new, but they have reached an extreme that makes it tough to be an idealistic do-gooder in this town.

I have to thank Commissioner Copps for reminding me that the idea of a dedicated public servant who fights to make government work for people—well, that’s not a quaint or lost notion. One of the first times I saw Commissioner Copps demonstrate this was on a freezing day in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania just days after a major snow storm left every road and sidewalk in town covered by a sheet of ice.  Copps and his other four colleagues on the Commission were there for a public hearing on media ownership rules.  Local broadcasters turned out dozens of their employees and non-profits groups to talk about the stations’ charity work, forcing members of the public to wait hours for their turn to express their dissatisfaction with the lack of quality journalism on the local news.

Three of the Commissioners left at the scheduled end of the hearing, and the venue closed the theater where the hearing was taking place.  Dozens of people were still waiting for their chance to testify, and Copps and fellow Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein were determined that everyone should be heard.  The Commissioners convinced the venue managers to set up folding chairs and tables in the lobby, and listened until the last person spoke.  One of the last to testify was a senior citizen who began by thanking the Commissioners for staying those extra hours, as she’d walked over a mile on those icy sidewalks to attend the hearing early that morning.  You can’t make this stuff up. 

This, of course, was not an isolated incident.  In recent weeks MADCo members have recalled countless other times when Commissioner Copps stood up for what was right, demonstrated his commitment to the public interest, and taught us all what a public servant should be.  Hearing these stories about Commissioner Copps, and remembering a few of my own, makes it possible for me to believe again in government and the people that are part of it, no matter how bad things seem right now.   

I look forward to seeing what Copps does next, and hope his successors at the Commission can fill those very big shoes.

-- Beth McConnell, bmcconnell (at) media (dash) democracy (dot) net