U.S. Supreme Court lets FCC loosen media ownership rules

[Jose Garcia]

Source: Reuters

April 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the Federal Communication Commission to loosen local media ownership restrictions, handing a victory to broadcasters in a ruling that could facilitate industry consolidation as consumers increasingly move online.

In a unanimous ruling, the justices overturned a lower court decision that had blocked the FCC's repeal of some media ownership regulations in 2017 for failing to consider the effects on ownership by racial minorities and women. Critics of the industry have said further consolidation could limit media choices for consumers. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)



Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/u-supreme-court-lets-fcc-141146800.html

[empedocles]

1. Unanimous. Ominous.

[turbinetree]

2. How quaint.......

there goes brick and motor local newspapers....and a further erosion of the Newspaper Guild...

[jimfields33]

5. Every justice voted for it

I can’t imagine the three liberals voting for a bad bill.

[dsc]

7. they aren't voting for the regulation

they are voting on whether the regulation did, or didn't follow the rules setout in regards to changing regulations. In this case, specifically it was if they should be required to commission their own study about the results of changing the regulation.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Ship sailed about 2003

not nice to hear it arrived intact.

Biden needs to bring some free market theory to the "free" markets so we can have some free markets.

[DBoon]

4. Sinclair gets to gobble up more local media

Well heeled right wing conglomerates will celebrate

[yaesu]

6. must have been decided on the false claim that corporations are people. nt

[ananda]

8. Oh no.

That is not good.

And it's already bad.

[rsdsharp]

9. Good God. The 1996 TelCom Act made it possible to own up to 8 radio stations in a single market.

That was said to help minority owners. Instead, it resulted in Clear Channel owing 1400 radio stations. And now they’ve loosened the ownership further.

Forty years ago, when I was in radio, no person or entity could own more than 7 AM, 7 FM, and 7 TV stations total, NATIONWIDE. No one could own more than one AM one FM and one TV station in a market.

[elleng]

10. 'Writing for the Supreme Court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the FCC made a reasonable judgment

based on the limited evidence it had about any effect the changes might have on female and minority ownership.

“The FCC repeatedly asked commenters to submit empirical or statistical studies on the relationship between the ownership rules and minority and female ownership,” Kavanaugh wrote. “Despite those requests, no commenter produced such evidence indicating that changing the rules was likely to harm minority and female ownership.”

In 2017 the FCC, under a chairman appointed by Trump, eliminated a rule that had barred companies from owning two television stations in a market that didn’t have at least eight independently owned stations. The change also let companies own two of the top four stations in some markets if the FCC grants a waiver.

In addition, the FCC eliminated separate bans on ownership of both a daily print newspaper and a broadcast station in the same coverage area, and on ownership of both a radio and television station in a single market.

An appeals court ruling against the FCC put the changes on hold.

Backers of stronger rules said they would press for renewed FCC action.

“This decision clearly reinforces the FCC’s authority to issue new, stronger rules if the record would support that,” said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, co-counsel for the group that challenged the FCC’s rules relaxation. “We will likely press for better data and for rules that would address increased concentration nationally and within local markets.”

The cases are FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project, 19-1231, and National Association of Broadcasters v. Prometheus Radio Project, 19-1241.'

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-01/supreme-court-rules-fcc-can-relax-media-ownership-rules

[bluestateboomer]

11. Bad for workers too.

Before ownership consolidation, the broadcast industry supported a whole population of workers. Both talent and technicians were employed at local outlets. Now programming is centralized and an engineer is responsible for multiple transmitters. Got degree in Radio-TV. Almost everything we learned about rules and regs designed to diversify ownership and content have been thrown out.