Did you know—
—that over and above $2 million dollars in taxpayer-funded trips, FCC staffers have taken an additional 2,500 trips costing nearly $2.8 million, most of which came from the telecom and broadcast industries that the agency is supposed to regulate? The top destination was Las Vegas, with 330 trips to such plush accommodations as the Bellagio; then New Orleans, at 173; then New York, at 102. Also listed: Paris, Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, London, Buenos Aires, and Beijing.
Nor does the FCC compile its own data or crunch its own numbers when assembling support for its proposed revisions to our media regulations. Instead, it relies on third-party information providers and self-reporting from—again—the telecom and broadcast industries it’s supposed to regulate. (Presumably, this helps explain why commissioners had to meet 71 times with industry reps leading up to Monday’s historic vote, but only five times with the two major consumer groups working for public interest.)
Wow. You’d think this would have made the news or something, to let us all know what was up with the vote: the Center for Public Integrity released these findings back on 22 May and 29 May, respectively. —Funny, that.
(Well, it did make Molly’s column, at least. I should remember to check in with her on a more regular basis.)
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