FCC members seem to agree it should be easier for women and minor...

“I think we all recognize that access to capital is a huge barrier to entry and that we need to find ways to bring aspiring entrepreneurs together with meaningful capital,” he said in prepared remarks. But the “serious fault-lines that arguably exist among us” result from disputes over whether increased consolidation hurts minority and female ownership, he said. Copps said he and Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein agree more concentrated ownership does hurt diversity. Adelstein said consolidation has “shut out new entrants by raising the cost of owning a single broadcast entity.” Saying he was disappointed that Congress ended tax breaks for companies that sell assets to minority-group members, he said ownership by them and women has “been in a tailspin” since Congress dumped tax certifications and passed the 1996 Telecom Act. Commissioner Robert McDowell said he worries that implementing FCC localism proposals would hurt women and minorities. “These proposals treat stations as if they are homogenous,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense for stations that serve niche audiences to poll for advisory boards the same community leaders that a general purpose station does.” Commissioner Deborah Tate said many industries other than broadcasting have few companies owned by minorities and women. But, she said, “opportunities do still exist for broadcast entrepreneurs, especially in the mid to small markets, to acquire stations and outperform industry growth.” An FCC spokeswoman said the commission couldn’t provide Chairman Kevin Martin’s opening statement right away. Technical problems precluded webcasting the hearing as planned, the FCC said.