MUMBAI: The Federal Comunication Commision (FCC ) commissioner Michael Copps has sharply criticized U.S. television news for failing to produce "the body of news and information that democracy needs to conduct its civic dialogue."

In an interview to BBC World News America , Copps, one of the five FCC commissioners, said that unless television news reverses course, "we are going to be pretty close to denying our citizens the essential news and information that they need to have in order to make intelligent decisions about the future direction of their country."   
     
  He pointed to a study indicating that the average 30-minute local newscast now has less than 30 seconds devoted to news about local government.

Besides, in a prepared statement delivered at Columbia University‘s School of Journalism, Copps blamed "the place where I work" for encouraging media consolidation that "eviscerated just about every public interest responsibility that generations of reformers had fought for and won in radio and TV."

However, there was no indication whether the other four FCC commissioners would consider his proposal.