Prometheus Asks Court to Vacate Ownership-Rule Change

PROMETHEUS ASKS COURT TO VACATE OWNERSHIP-RULE CHANGE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
On Tuesday, the Media Access Project filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on behalf of Prometheus Radio Project and in opposition to loosening the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules, which the Federal Communications Commission did Dec. 18. MAP was instrumental in getting the FCC's 2003 ownership-rule rewrite remanded to that court in the first place when it represented Prometheus in a filing to block that deregualtory effort. The result of that, after years of legal maneuvers and rule reviews, was eventually that December 2007 decision to loosen, but not lift, the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules. But there is more for MAP to like in the rule rewrite this time around. The group supported the FCC majority's decision not to loosen the local TV or radio ownership caps. "We are going to be very supportive of some of the things the commission did," MAP president Andrew J. Schwartzman said. But loosening newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership was not one of them and it made that clear in no uncertain terms. In its petition, the group called the decision "contrary to law" and "otherwise arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion and in excess of statutory authority." MAP asked the court to "vacate, enjoin and set aside the report and order and order such other relief as may be just and proper." MAP expects broadcasters to take the decision to court, too. They will likely argue that the FCC was wrong in not deregulating the TV and radio ownership caps while it was at it.
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