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US Supreme Court Ordered FCC to Relax Media Ownership Rules

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Jennie Miller

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) could relax rules limiting the number of newspapers, radio stations, and television stations that a single entity may own in a given market. The decision is likely to prompt further consolidation among broadcast outlets. Some of them said they need more freedom to address competition from internet and cable companies. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh wrote for the court that the rules at issue in the case, initially adopted between 1964 and 1975, designed to promote competition, localism, and viewpoint diversity by ensuring that a small number of entities don’t dominate a particular media market. But, the rules were a relic of a different era, an early-cable and pre-internet age when media sources were more limited. By the 1990s, however, the market for news and entertainment had changed dramatically.

Justice Kavanaugh also wrote, “Technological advances led to a massive increase in alternative media options, such as cable television and the internet. Those technological advances challenged the traditional dominance of daily print newspapers, local radio stations, and local television stations”. Point to be noted that the case concerned 3 rules including Federal Communications Commission v. Prometheus Radio Project, No. 19-1231. One barred a single entity from owning a radio or television station and a daily print newspaper in the same market. The second limited the number of radio and television stations an entity can own in a single market. The third restricted the number of local television stations an entity could own in the same market. The commission concluded in 2017 that the 3 rules no longer served their original purposes of promoting competition and the like.

The vote was 3 to 2 along party lines, with the commission’s Republican members in the majority. Justice Kavanaugh also wrote, “The F.C.C. explained that permitting efficient combinations among radio stations, television stations, and newspapers would benefit consumers”. It is noteworthy that public interest and advocacy groups objected, largely on the ground that changing the rules would harm minority and female ownership of media outlets. The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, agreed to rule that the commission had not adequately considered evidence on that point. The appeals court also ordered the commission to do more work. The president of the News Media Alliance, David Chavern welcomed the ruling and said, “The cross-ownership ban is a prime example of an outdated regulation that had shackled the newspaper industry for far too long”.

Source: http://www.vindulacms.com/us-supreme-court-ordered-fcc-to-relax-media-ownership-rules/

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Jennie Miller
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