Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell mildly protests that the Chairman should instead have gone for a full “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking”, but it’s apparent that everything is on the table for radio: current local ownership limits, in place since the 1996 Telecom Act. Also whether it makes sense to have a separate rule about the number of AMs and FMs in a market (“sub-caps”). And “what part should low power FM stations play in the rule?” And whether to consider market share, or “the degree of consolidation other media in the local market.” The section on “localism” will cause some unease with many broadcasters, including religious operators, because of talk about measuring “citizen consumption of, and satisfaction with, local content.” The Commission will also be asking what diversity means in terms of radio and TV ownership. It observes that at the time of the 1996 Telecom Act, “there were 10,257 commercial radio stations and 5,133 owners. Today, there are 11,202 stations and 3,143 owners.” Read the FCC’s Notice of Inquiry on media ownership. They’re talking about the FCC’s plans on the “FCC Policy Debate” section of the Discussion Board at Radio-Info.com.