The chair of the Federal Communications Commission is being criticized for announcing a major public input hearing on media consolidation just five days before it’s set to take place. FCC Chair Kevin Martin is already under scrutiny for backing measures that would eliminate limits on media ownership. Josh Silver, executive director of the watchdog group Free Press, said: “The chairman is ignoring the undeniable evidence that media consolidation has a devastating impact on local news and diversity. … He may not want to listen to the countless Americans who are sick and tired of a broken media system — but they will be heard.”