Friday, April 13, 2007

A Guide To Making FCC Comments

April 13, 2007

A Guide For Filing Comments with the FCC

The Sirius and XM merger is a hot topic, and there is a lot of passion involved with investors as well as consumers. While being passionate about something is good, do not let that passion dictate how you communicate with the FCC.

BE POLITE AND COURTIOUS

The FCC is made up of people just like you and I. However, being a government agency, and having to deal with the public over the phone and net can be very frustrating. Your communication to the FCC should be formatted in a manner that shows that you can have an intelligent and valid opinion. Remember, your opinion will be one of many, and there are some powerful groups that may oppose your opinion. You will never lose points for being polite, but being rude can easily set the tone for how your comment is read and received.

DO NOT ASSUME

Do not assume that the FCC knows or understands what you are speaking about. Acronyms should be spelled out into the words that are associated with the letters, and it is better to keep the comment easy to understand. Technical jargon my come across as a foreign language, and getting into specific terms and areas may lose your audience. The best message is one that can be understood by the largest amount of people. Also, do not assume that the FCC shares your passion, or has even experienced satellite radio.

BE DESCRIPTIVE

Outline your thoughts with descriptions that illustrate your point. A point with a well thought out description carries more weight. Your descriptions should be simple to understand, and presented such that they get the point across in a sentence or two. Remember, the people reading your comments may have never experienced satellite radio. If you speak about a stream or a channel it does not hurt to put the word “station” into parentheses so they know what you are talking about.

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE SIDE OF YOUR OPINION

People tend to be more receptive to a positive message. By example, with the issue of abortion, there are two sides. Both sides put forth a positive connotation regarding their stance. There are PRO-LIFE and PRO-CHOICE. Notice that the group that opposes abortion does not label itself as ANTI-ABORTION and the group that is for abortion does not label itself as PRO-ABORTION.

LET THEM KNOW YOUR STORY

This is YOUR COMMENT. Do not generalize to the point that you seem to be speaking for everyone. You are a person with an opinion and a story. Do not fall into the trap of speaking for everyone. In general, no one likes to have someone speak for them, so why should you pretend that you can speak for everyone. You can offer a broader opinion, but be sure that YOUR STORY is included. Let the FCC know who you are. It makes you a “REAL PERSON” with a “REAL OPINION”. For example, something like, “As A Full Time Insurance Salesman I find myself driving at least 2 hours a day……” This gives your opinion a personality.

BE CONCISE

Do not ramble on and on. Your opinion should convey your point throughout the piece. Introduce your opinion, provide background, and provide a conclusion. Keep it simple.

READ OTHER COMMENTS

By reading other comments that have already been made, you may garner an aspect of the issue that you have not yet considered. It also gives you an idea of the sentiment and types of comments that are being received. It is always good to know as much as possible prior to taking action.

WRITE – PROOFREAD – PROOFREAD AGAIN – SUBMIT

Write down your thoughts. Then proofread what you have written. Then proofread it again. Many times I myself fail to proof things that I have written, and it never shines well. Sometimes it is because I am in a hurry, sometimes I am just tired, but with an FCC comment you have time to take these important steps. This will be YOUR OPINION. Make sure that the point you are making is the focus, and not a spelling error or grammar error.

MAKE YOUR COMMENTS SEVERAL WAYS

The FCC allows comments over the web, as well as via letters and fax. Use all three to get your comment heard. While it may seem old fashioned, a hand written and mailed letter is very effective. It shows that in this day and age of instant gratification that you stopped and took the time to outline your thoughts and mail them.

MAKE SURE TO REFERECE WHAT YOU ARE COMMENTING ABOUT

All too often people will write a comment and fail to clearly illustrate what they are commenting about. For the Sirius XM Merger the Proceeding is “07-57” or MB Docket #07-57. Identify this number and include “Proposed Sirius and XM Merger” at the top of the page.

Readers can comment via the web HERE (remember to use Proceeding 07-57

Readers can view the status of the merger application, and other comments HERE

Labels: fcc comments