Former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lawyer Adam Candeub claims that the government agency destroyed a 2004 study on the implications of local media ownership. The study, which revealed that locally owned television stations provide more local news coverage, blatantly contradicts the FCC's assertion that "commonly owned television stations are more likely to carry local news," an argument used by the agency to justify a position in favor of a hands-off approach to media ownership restrictions.

A surviving copy of the report ended up in the hands of California Senator Barbara Boxer, who supposedly received it "indirectly from someone within the FCC who believed the information should be made public," according Boxer spokeswoman Natalie Ravitzto. Boxer revealed the report to the public during a re-nomination confirmation hearing for FCC chief Kevin Martin. Both Martin and former FCC chairman Michael Powell have denied knowledge of the report, prompting Boxer to demand a full investigation.

Allegations of malfeasance and misconduct are nothing new for the FCC. Like many other federal regulatory agencies, the FCC has a long history of dubious conduct. Disparagingly referred to as the Fascist Censorship Commission by critics, the FCC is responsible for enforcing increasingly draconian "decency" rules that threaten to purge the airwaves of free speech. The FCC is also responsible for the steady expansion of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and has attempted to mandate VoIP back-doors despite the fact that doing so contradicts the language and intent of CALEA as well as the agency's own standing policies regarding the classification of Internet services. The FCC is also guilty of frequent attempts to exceed its authority, most notably by attempting to mandate the anti-consumer broadcast flag without congressional authorization. A former employee of a prominent Washington DC telecommunications lobbying firm, current FCC chairman Kevin Martin is himself a controversial figure, whom critics regularly accuse of shilling for the big bells.

In an article about the controversial report, UCSC professor and radio history expert Matthew Lasar points out that, although the study shows that locally owned stations air an average of 5.5 additional minutes of local knows per half hour, it also reveals that the local news coverage provided by such stations can be politically motivated. According to Lasar, the study cites the following example:

"For example," the study suggests on page two, "if the local [television station] owner also develops real estate locally, they may cover the local zoning board in a way that favors the owner's real estate interests."

The paper makes it clear that localism is advantageous in some ways, but not others. Taken in full, it seems like the report merely increases the complexity of the media ownership debate rather than resolving it. As a result, Lasar feels that "[i]f Michael Powell's FCC did indeed suppress this document, the action suggests a highly politicized, even paranoid internal culture that feared even a nuanced challenge to its agenda."

Senator Boxer is reportedly waiting for answers, and is threatening a full investigation of the issue if answers don't turn up soon.