Katie Bachman, Adweek
Now that the Obama Administration has successfully shut down the AT&T-T-Mobile merger, it is setting its sights on Verizon Wireless’ recent spectrum and joint venture deals with cable companies. According to a Bloomberg report, the Department of Justice is reportedly looking at whether the joint venture arrangement Verizon [...]

Brendan Sasso, The Hill
AT&T abandoned its $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile on Monday, acknowledging that it couldn’t overcome opposition from the Obama administration.
Both the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had moved to block the deal, arguing the merger of the second and fourth largest wireless carriers would [...]

Jon Healy, LA Times
Finally getting the hint from the feds, AT&T announcedMonday that it was dropping its $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile. That leaves AT&T stuck with the status quo, which in some major cities means a frustrating amount of congestion and dropped calls. Meanwhile, rival Verizon Wireless has been [...]

December 19, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact: Andrew Jay Schwartzman
202.454.5681
andys@mediaaccess.org

VERIZON “PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT” DOES NOT ALLAY CONCERNS ABOUT SPECTRUM DEAL WITH CABLE COMPANIES
Verizon has submitted an application seeking FCC approval of spectrum it seeks to purchase from a consortium of the largest cable television companies. Although the transaction also involves elaborate joint marketing agreements, Verizon argues [...]

By Brian Stelter, The New York Times

Progressive activists and public interest groups have long blasted Rupert Murdoch and his News Corporation for political biases. But in recent weeks they have seized on a new and more tangible reason to call for the revocation of his TV licenses and the breakup of his [...]

By AMY SCHATZ, The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—Federal regulators may face more pressure to overhaul laws governing media ownership in the U.S. after a federal appeals court Thursday threw out a 2008 government decision to relax restrictions on companies seeking to control both newspapers and television stations.
A panel of the U.S. [...]

By Timothy Karr, HuffPost Media
It’s not every day that you can celebrate a win for the public over big media. But on Thursday a federal appeals court threw out an attempt by the FCC and industry titans to gut media ownership limits.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [...]

By Gautham Nagesh, Hillicon Valley
A federal court rejected a rule change from the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday that would have made it easier for a single company to own both a newspaper and broadcast TV station in the same local market on technical grounds.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the [...]

By Ted Johnson, Variety
A federal appellate court turned back the FCC’s effort to relax its limits on ownership of newspapers and TV stations in the same market, ruling that the agency failed to give adequate notice when they made the change in 2007.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals means that the [...]

By JOELLE TESSLER, AP Technology Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has restored a longstanding ban that prevents media companies from owning both a newspaper and a television station in the same market.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said Thursday that the Federal Communications Commission didn’t give [...]