When the Public Interest is Not What Interests the Public

In response to the Federal Communications Commission's proposed changes to its electronic media ownership rules, thousands of concerned citizens filed e-mail comments to express their opinions. The chairman of the FCC at that time, Michael Powell, opined that such comments were too general to be seriously considered by the agency in making its decisions. Several indicia of effective participation in such proceedings have been established in the literature, including whether the comments provide specific information relevant to the issues being considered. This article analyses the e-mail comments filed in the FCC's ownership proceedings to determine whether they contain the kind of information that is considered necessary for meaningful public participation. While the comments generally addressed relevant topics in sometimes sophisticated ways, they did not present the kinds of specific information that the Commission uses to justify its expert opinions.