FCC’s Rules on Media Cross-Ownership Are Vacated by Federal Appeals Court
By Sophia Pearson and Todd Shields , Bloomberg
A U.S. appeals court vacated Federal Communications Commission rules relaxing limits on cross- ownership of newspapers and broadcast outlets, saying the agency failed to provide adequate notice.
The FCC in 2007 approved rules allowing publishers to own both newspapers and broadcast stations in the biggest U.S. cities. The move was designed to help forestall erosion in local news coverage by enabling companies to share news-gathering costs, the FCC said at the time.
The federal appeals court in Philadelphia today sent the ownership rules back to the FCC for further consideration. CBS Corp. (CBS), Clear Channel Communications Inc., Gannett Co., Media General Inc. and Cox Enterprises Inc. had challenged the FCC order, contending that the agency erred by failing to relax the rule further. Consumer groups argued that the FCC didn’t provide adequate notice and that elements of the rule were unsupported by evidence.
“This decision is a vindication of the public’s right to have a diverse media environment,” Andrew Jay Schwartzman, policy director of Media Access Project, a Washington-based law firm, said in an e-mail. “The FCC majority knew that its effort to allow more media concentration was politically and legally unworkable, so it tried to end-run the procedural protections that are designed to give the public the right to participate in agency proceedings.”
The ruling approved part of the FCC rules limited to broadcast stations, the agency said in an e-mailed statement.
“The commission is currently engaged in a statutorily mandated further review of its media ownership rules,” Austin Schlick, the FCC’s general counsel, said in an e-mailed statement. “With an updated record and this supportive decision, the agency should be able to take appropriate steps to ensure that the nation’s media marketplace remains healthy and vibrant.”
The companies filed as petitioners in the main case Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC, 08-3078, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Philadelphia).
