Federal Appeals Ct. Slams FCC Attempt To Weaken Media Ownership Rules: Victory for the Public

[appalachiablue]

- In 'Tremendous Victory for the Public,' Federal Appeals Court Quashes FCC Attempt to Weaken Media Ownership Rules.- "The FCC must now do the job it's long refused to do: properly weigh all of the evidence showing the impact of media consolidation on local communities." Common Dreams, Sept. 23, 2019.

Public interest groups celebrated Monday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit quashed an effort by the Republican-led Federal Communications Commission to relax local media ownership rules. "Today's ruling is a tremendous victory for the public," Free Press vice president of strategy and senior counsel Jessica J. González said in a statement. "It admonishes the Trump FCC for its complete failure to consider the impact of its ownership policies on women and people of color."
~ "This decision is telling the Trump administration that it can't ignore us as it pushes regulations to enrich big companies and hurt our communities." - Bryan Mercer, Media Mobilizing Project.

In late 2017, the FCC voted along party lines to eliminate or weaken various rules, making it easier for companies to buy more televisions stations in the same market and killing a decades-old ban on a company owning both a newspaper and radio or TV station in the same market. As Common Dreams reported at the time, critics of media consolidation called it a "massive handout" to companies like the right-wing Sinclair Broadcast Group—which reportedly has ties to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and spearheaded the overhaul.

The FCC's attempt to loosen its rules was challenged by Common Cause, the Communications Workers of America, Free Press, the Media Mobilizing Project, the Prometheus Radio Project, and the United Church of Christ Office of Communication as well as attorneys from the Georgetown Law Institute of Public Representation. In a 2-1 decision (pdf) Monday, the Philadelphia-based appeals court found that the FCC "has not shown yet that it adequately considered the effect its actions... will have on diversity in broadcast media ownership."

The decision is just the latest in a long series of rulings from the appeals court regarding the FCC's media ownership rules over the past 15 years. González noted that "this marks the fourth time this court has rejected the relentless attempts from the FCC and the broadcast industry to weaken media-ownership limits regardless of the damage such drastic deregulation would cause local communities." The court referenced the long legal battle in its ruling Monday, which reads in part: "To avoid sounding like a broken record, we recount only in brief the history of this case up through our most recent decision. The full account of the entire saga can be found in our earlier opinions."...

More, https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/09/23/tremendous-victory-public-federal-appeals-court-quashes-fcc-attempt-weaken-media



- Ajit Pai, FCC/Federal Communications Commission Chairman.

[dlk]

1. Many forget (or never knew in the first place) the American people own the airwaves

We have been sold out too many times in the name of corporate profits.

[appalachiablue]

2. On it goes. Kudos to efforts of public interest groups & the court.

>"The FCC's attempt to loosen its rules was challenged by Common Cause, the Communications Workers of America, Free Press, the Media Mobilizing Project, the Prometheus Radio Project, and the United Church of Christ Office of Communication as well as attorneys from the Georgetown Law Institute of Public Representation."

[dlk]

3. Yes, we owe them a debt of gratitude for all their efforts

Imagine where we would be without them.

[ms liberty]

4. K&R. n/t