The Federal Communications Commission will hold an official hearing regarding media ownership Tuesday, Oct. 3, in the Embassy Room of the USC Davidson Conference Center. All five commissioners will be present at the hearing.

Organized with the assistance of the USC Center for Communication Law & Policy, the hearing is open to the public. The meeting is the first of six to be held across the country.

“I am delighted that USC was able to host this important FCC meeting. It will provide a unique and valuable opportunity for USC students and scholars and the Los Angeles public to observe and participate in an FCC meeting,” said Simon Wilkie adjunct professor of communication and law at USC Annenberg School for Communication and executive director of the Center for Communication Law & Policy. “It is of particular interest to our community given the vital importance of the media industry to our local economy."

Last month, two FCC commissioners participated in a forum where they heard testimony from associate dean and Norman Lear Center Director Martin Kaplan, among others. Kaplan said news station owners “shun substantive public affairs coverage in favor of crime, scandal, accidental injury, happy-talk, network entertainment cross-promotion, plus a virtually inexhaustible supply of minutes sold in exchange for billions of dollars of paid political ads.”

The upcoming hearing will be held from 1 to 4:30 p.m.; seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.