Addressing FCC staff members on Monday, acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps promised to bring greater openness and transparency to the FCC’s processes so as to bring “true credibility to everything we do.” Copps’ remarks follow on the release of a report last month by the House Energy and Commerce Committee which took issue with the FCC’s decision-making processes and, in particular, the “heavy handed, opaque, and non-collegial” management style of former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Voicing regret that “our lines of communication, both internal and external, seem to have frayed,” Copps asserted that “change needs to occur . . . in at least three distinct areas: how the various bureaus and offices work with each other; how the Commissioners communicate with one another and with the bureaus, and how the Commission communicates with the public.” To that end, Copps said his office would conduct weekly briefings with representatives of each FCC commissioner and with FCC bureau and office chiefs with the goal of “significantly [improving] the quality of our decision-making” and “[expediting] the business of the Commission.” Copps also encouraged improved lines of communication between the commissioners and the bureaus “with the presumption being that important information shouldn’t have to be asked for—it should be provided.” While announcing plans to conduct the first open meetings of his interim chairmanship on February 5 and on March 5, Copps urged staff members to expedite their work on backlogged items as he affirmed that the digital TV transition would hold top priority on the FCC’s policy agenda. Copps described his proposal as “an essential down-payment on the reforms necessary to revitalize” the agency.