FCC's Martin Is Miami-Bound

It's wintertime in Washington so why not head to warm, sunny Florida? FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is doing just that as part of the agency's mission to educate consumers about the upcoming nationwide transition to digital television. Martin will head to Miami on Jan. 3 for a town hall meeting at a Best Buy department store on the Feb. 17 switchover. The forecast calls for sunny skies and 76° weather.

The FCC identified target television markets for specific DTV outreach, including all those markets in which more than 100,000 households or at least 15 percent of the households rely solely on over-the-air signals for TV reception. The five FCC commissioners and senior staff are visiting these and other markets in the days leading up to the transition. Martin will also travel to Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and South Bend, Ind. on Jan 5 and Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 6.

Meanwhile, organizers of the Consumer Electronics Show (Jan. 8-11) have announced that Martin will return to the high-tech extravaganza in Las Vegas for his last appearance as FCC chairman. He and Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro will have an on-stage chat on Saturday, Jan. 10 about his tenure at the FCC and the challenges likely to confront industry and the Obama administration.