Testify! (to the FCC)

Radio activist extrordinaire Don Shellhardt relays how to submit your testimony to the FCC for the Commission’s public hearing on media ownership to be held in Richmond, VA:

As noted elsewhere on this Message, the FCC has just announced Field Hearings in Richmond on whether the FCC should remove the remaining legal limits on how much of the media a single company can own. The proceeding is Docket 02-277.

The Hearings, which have been initiated at the insistence of FCC COMMISSIONER MICHAEL COPPS, will be held:

10:00 A.M.-4:00 P.M., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27
[Exact Location In Richmond To Be Announced Later]

There are two ways YOU can participate in these Hearings. You can pursue either option — or both.

(1) You can file WRITTEN TESTIMONY, electronically, in FCC Docket 02-277. Be sure to label your filing as RICHMOND-RELATED Written Testimony — and get it to the FCC on or before Midnight Eastern Time on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26.

For instructions on HOW to file your Written Testimony (or any other document) electronically, please see my posting, below [click ‘more’ below]:

“HOW TO FILE WRITTEN COMMENTS WITH THE FCC (And Other Cool Stuff)”

AND/OR

(2) You may request the opportunity to present ORAL TESTIMONY: that is, to testify in person in Richmond. There is no guarantee you will be accepted, but you can give it a try.

To make your request to testify in Richmond:

A — Write up a polite letter to FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, asking for a chance to testify, in Richmond, on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27.

B — Include within the letter, or in a document submitted with the letter, information on WHO you are (and/or what your organization is all about, IF you are representing an organization) … WHAT perspective and/or expertise you can “bring to the party” … and WHY you are interested in the preservation of media ownership “caps”.

C — Send the above-referenced document(s), as an ATTACHMENT, in an E-Mail Message to ALEX JOHNS of Commissioner Copps’ office: ajohns@fcc.gov

She will handle things from there on out.

Also from Don Shellhardt (as posted to Community Radio USA):

HOW TO FILE COMMENTS WITH THE FCC (And Other Cool Stuff)



Name: Don Schellhardt
E-Mail: pioneerpath@hotmail.com
Date: 1/24/03 10:31 p.m.

“65.59.74.248” writes:

Many
of you are already “old hands” at filing Written Comments, Reply
Comments, Motions and other advocacy documents with the FCC.

HOWEVER …

In
response to a couple of requests, here are step-by-step instructions on
how to access the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). The
instructions are set forth below.

Live Long And Prosper!!!!

Yours,

Don Schellhardt

________________________________________________________________________________

A. HOW TO FILE WRITTEN COMMENTS, REPLY COMMENTS, MOTIONS, ETC.

A-1. Go to the FCC’s Home Page at www.fcc.gov

A-2. When a new page opens up, scroll down to:

“Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) & ECFS Express”

A-3. Click on:

“Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS)”

A-4. When a new page opens up, go to the upper right hand corner

A-5. Click on:

“Submit A Filing”

A-6. A new page, with a Form, will open up

A-7. WITHIN that Form, you MUST fill in the slots for:

(i) “Proceeding” … ENTER [type in] the FCC Docket Number you want

[NOTE AN FCC IDIOSYNCROSY: If the Docket Number is “RM Something”,

type in The Whole Thing: for example, RM-10330 … However, if

the number in the Docket is preceded by anything OTHER THAN “RM”

(such as MM or ET), just type in the number: for example, 02-277

or 99-325 … As for WHY it works like this: Go figure]

(ii) Person To Whom Correspondence About Your Filing Should Be Sent …

SELECT Between “Name” (You), “Law Firm” (Yours), “Attorney” (Yours)

(iii) “Document Type” … Click to SELECT One Item From Among Menu Of

Choices (Comment, Reply, Motion, etc.)

A-8. Scroll down to the slots BELOW the Form

A-9. Beside the 2nd slot, click on:

“Browse”

A-10. The computer SHOULD call up a list of all the documents in your

personal “My Documents” file, Floppy Disc file or other file containing

documents YOU have stored

A-11. SELECT, from among YOUR documents, the document YOU want to file in THIS

proceeding before the FCC

A-12. Go to the third (bottom) slot BELOW the Form: “CONVERT”

A-13. Summon the Menu Of Choices and SELECT between Adobe … MS Excel …

MS Word … ASCII … and Lotus

A-14. BELOW the slots that are BELOW the Form, click on:

“Send Attached File To FCC”

A-15. When a new page opens up, click on the option to proceed with the filing

and receive a Transaction Number

A-16. You will then be given a Transaction Number … Be sure to COPY DOWN

THE TRANSACTION NUMBER, since this is your PROOF that the filing you sent

in was actually received by the FCC

And Then …

GO HOME!!!!

And
congratulate yourself on successfully completing a complicated process.
After a few filings, it will seem like Second Nature to you.

__________________________________

B. HOW TO SEARCH FOR OTHER PEOPLE’S FILINGS, OTHER DOCUMENTS, IN AN FCC DOCKET

B-1 through B-4. Same as Steps A-1 through A-4, above

B-5. Click on:

“Search For Filed Comments”

B-6. When a new page opens up, you will see a Form

B-7. In the 1st slot WITHIN that Form — “Proceeding” — enter (type in)

the FCC Docket Number that interests you

[NOTE: Please see the annotation — in A-7 (i), above — about the

different treatment of RM Docket Numbers, as opposed to all other

Docket Numbers]

B-8. BELOW the Form, click on:

“Retrieve Document File”

B-9. When a new page opens up, you will see a list of all the documents which

have been filed in this Docket (including documents filed by the FCC

itself), with THE MOST RECENTLY FILED DOCUMENT listed first — and the

first document filed last

B-10. Click on the document you want to read, and the ECFS will open it

B-11. If the document is more than 1 or 2 pages, settle in for a spell

between the time you click and the time the document opens …

The longer the document, the longer you will probably have to wait

__________________________________

C. HOW TO “SEARCH FOR A PROCEEDING HISTORY”

C-1 through C-4. Same as Steps A-1 through A-4, or B-1 through B-4, above

C-5. Click on:

“Search For Proceeding History”

C-6 through C-8. Same as Steps B-6 through B-8, above

C-9. When a new page opens up, you will see a list of filings and other

actions in the FCC Docket you have selected … You will not be

able to OPEN any documents, however … This is just a list

______________________________________________________________________________

GOOD LUCK!!!!

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!!!!


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