Michael J. Copps

Why He Matters

In his previous eight years on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Copps has used a variety of means to get his voice heard as a representative of the minority Democratic party on the five-person panel. Now, for the first time, Copps has a chance to sit in the majority.

As a commissioner, Copps helps decide agency policies regarding the regulation of television, Internet and radio. The FCC also distributes broadband access to companies and approves media mergers and acquisitions. The board can only have three members from the same political party, and Copps, a Democrat, has had to work in the minority since joining in 2001. He used any means possible as demonstrated by a nationwide tour in 2003 to spread the word about a media deregulation proposal supported by Republican FCC colleagues.

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