FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OF FIC E OF 
T HE CHAIRMAN 
The Honorable Susan Collins 
United States Senate 
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
Dear Senator Collins: 
April15 , 2014 
Thank you for your letters expressing concerns regarding the FCC's Critical Information 
Needs (CIN) study. I understand your interest, and I want to be clear that I had my own 
concerns regarding the proposed Research Design when I first heard of the issue in December 
2013- within the first few weeks of my Chairmanship. 
The development of the Research Design was intended to aid the Commission in meeting 
its obligations under Section 257 of the Communications Act. Section 257 directs the 
Commission to identify and eliminate "market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other small 
businesses in the provision and ownership of telecommunications services and information 
services." The statutory provision expressly links our obligation to identify market barriers with 
the responsibility to "promote the policies and purposes of this chapter favoring diversity of 
media voices." Finally, Section 257 requires the Commission to review and report to Congress 
on "any regulations prescribed to eliminate barriers within its jurisdiction ... that can be 
prescribed consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity." 
I agree with you, and others that had similar concerns, that the approach outlined in the 
"Qualitative Analysis" portion of the Research Design was not appropriate. As an initial first 
step, I asked Commission staff to eliminate- in its entirety- that portion of the study. Upon 
further reflection, I decided that the study should not go forward at all. This does not mean that 
the Commission is abandoning its obligations under Section 257, or our review of diversity 
issues as part of the remand from the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. I take these 
responsibilities seriously, and want to ensure we approach them in the proper manner by seeking 
public input on the best way forward, and addressing any concerns head-on. 
I do want to take the opportunity to clear up some continued misconceptions surrounding 
this topic: (1) I made clear early on, and I reassert now, that I do not intend to re-establish the 
Fairness Doctrine, or to impose any government mandates in violation of the First Amendment; 
(2) Final expenditures are still being calculated, but there was never more than $500,000 
allocated for the first phase of the CIN study, which included the Research Design, the Pilot, and 
other activities related to the test market study which has since been terminated; and (3) The 
Commission has many priorities, including the duty to promote diversity in the communications 
market, and having reliable data on how the markets function and serve the public is essential to 
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our underlying responsibilities in the Communications Act - including our quadrennial review of 
media ownership rules. 
I hope you find this information helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions.