FCC Still Deciding Whether To Modify Cross-Ownership Rules

The Federal Communications Commission has told the Third Circuit Court of Appeals that it is still trying to decide whether or not to modify the newspaper/broadcast crossownership rules, saying there could be "further proceedings." A three-judge panel on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals April 14 agreed to delay ruling on challenges to the FCC's December 2008 loosening of the newspaper-broadcast crossownership rules until a newly constituted FCC could take another look at it, if it chose to. The court had also given interested parties 21 days to tell it why it should not lift the stay on the FCC rule change. That deadline was May 5. In a letter to the court, FCC acting general counsel Michele Elison did not say the FCC would definitely review the rule change, which loosened the ban on newspaper-broadcast crossownership to allow them, under certain circumstances, in the top 20 markets, and perhaps smaller markets under a waiver policy. But she did reiterate that the majority on the Commission does not support that December 2008 order loosening the ban. "The current Commission is in the process of determining whether to reconsider or otherwise modify the newspaper/broadcast crossownership rules contained in its 2008 order. Because there may be further proceedings on remand, the Commission at this time supports keeping the current stay in place with respect to the revised newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule." In its filing with the court, representatives of Promethues Radio Project, which challenged the ownership rule change as too deregulatory, said that the stay should remain in place because the FCC is likely to modify the rule on reconsideration. And if it doesn't, the court will likely reverse it as arbitrary and capricious.