An interesting wrinkle, but probably won’t stand as proceedings start: FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said in prepared statement that the commision will look closely at the $5.6 billion News Corp (NYSE: NWS) buying Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) deal, reports MarketWatch. The full statement: “It’s interesting to hear the ‘experts’ claim the transaction faces no regulatory hurdles. Not so fast! This deal means more media consolidation and fewer independent voices, and it specifically impacts the local market in New York City. What’s good for shareholders of huge media conglomerates isn’t always what’s good for the public interest or our civic dialogue. We should immediately conduct a careful factual and legal analysis of the transaction to determine how it implicates specific FCC rules and our overarching statutory obligation to protect the public interest. I hope nobody views this as a slam-dunk.”

Copps is a frequent critic of media consolidation and is one of two Democratic appointees to the five-member board. This is what he said yesterday on FCC’s setting of the wireless spectrum auction and opening it up in part: “Whether we’re talking about media ownership, the future of the Internet, video distribution, or ownership of wireless and wireline assets, I believe that reducing the power of gatekeepers and increasing the intensity of competition is the right policy call.”