For the first project, we will be conducting research on items from the August 2019 & September 2019 Open Commission meetings at the FCC. This will help us to begin preparing for our visit to the FCC and the open meeting we will attend in November.
In preparation for the visit, we will review the process that the FCC uses to develop and issue rules, also called regulations, from the authority given by Congress. Please read the following sections from the Rulemaking Process (Links to an external site.) from the FCC website:
What is Rulemaking
What is a Rule
What is the agency’s authority to issue legislative rules?
How does the agency identify the need for a rulemaking?
How does an agency initially determine the best solution to a problem?
What are the requirements for the rulemaking process?
How do I submit comments to the FCC on proposed rules?
How do I get access to NPRMs, final rules, or comments filed by others?
Next, please read Chapters two and three from the book The Federal Communications Commission: Front Line in the Culture and Regulation Wars, posted here Preview the documentand under the FCC project #1 module. This will give you a solid background on the makeup of the Commission and the policymaking bureaus; processes for rulemaking, and filing complaints and appeals; and the role of the public with the FCC.
Then read the excerpt from the conclusion of Americas Battle for Media Democracy by Victor PickardPreview the document, a piece that discusses and critiques the role and relationship between federal agencies and the people who work for them, and the ways that policies are implemented for various constituencies, including corporations and the public (also posted under the FCC project #1 module). This reading should be used to inform your discussion of some of the perspectives you may encounter in comments posted to the FCC site and outside sources you find regarding the item you research.
One week before each open meeting, the FCC publishes a notice for the public to read, called a sunshine notice, described under the What are the requirements for the rulemaking process? section in the Rulemaking Process (Links to an external site.) on the FCC website.
Please read the sunshine notice that was published at the end of July for the August 1, 2019 meetingPreview the document and the sunshine notice for the September 26, 2019 meetingPreview the document.
Prior to the meeting, the FCC also publishes drafts detailing what the commission is considering, which you can find here for the August meeting (Links to an external site.) and here for the September open meeting (Links to an external site.).
For the first project, you should choose one item from either the August or September open meeting. You will conduct research on the item in order to get a clear understanding of the issue that the FCC took up in a previous meeting.
You should review the
1. Public drafts for the item you select, which can be accessed from either the August (Links to an external site.) or September (Links to an external site.) meeting pages. For example, if you choose to research the The Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI Fund, a fund to rebuild communications networks in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after they were devasted by hurricanes in September 2017, you would read the report and order, linked from the page.
2. Comments filed by various parties interested in the issue. To access the comments, go to the FCCs Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), which you can get to from the Access Now box on the FCC homepage (Links to an external site.).
ECFS
specify proceeding (optional)
To do this, in the Specify Proceeding (Optional) field (see screenshot above) and input the “Docket no.” (or number) which you can find under the document that is posted for the item. For example, if you are researching the The Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI Fund, you will find the Docket no. in the heading the public draft posted, in this case 18-143. You will find that there are various types of filings for the item, from comments, to complaints, to requests, to exparte notices (find a description of what this is here (Links to an external site.)). Please read at least 8 of the filings for the item you select. In your own words detail the positions from various constituencies who have an interest in the issue.
Who are they / what organization are they from?
What is their position on the issue under consideration? Do they agree with the FCCs position on the issue, why or why not?
Do they have any requests?
3. Finally, conduct research on the internet, using reputable news sites, such as Google Scholar (Links to an external site.), the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, etc. to look into the issue more broadly. If you are researching the re-building in Puerto Rico, you might search fcc puerto rico recovery, federal communications commission rural broadband, or even digital divide rural broadband. You should have 3 independent sources which discuss the issue from a detached perspective.
You will use your understanding of the issue to then write an 8-10 page paper on the issue and its importance for the FCC and the United States in general. As you begin to compile your research, please let me know if there are any concerns with this page length.
Papers must be typed in Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced. Please do not put extra space between paragraphs; instead please indent each new paragraph. Please include a bibliography or Works Cited page for your references and please make sure to use in-text citations in your works.
Acceptable formats for submission: Word or PDF. Please do not submit a .PAGES document, created on Mac computers. If you are using the Pages, please export your paper as a Word or PDF document prior to submitting.
Final drafts will be due Thursday, Oct. 24th.
You will be required to submit the first draft, 5 pages in length, on Monday, Oct. 14th.
