Now that the Supreme Court has declined to review appeals on several of the FCC’s new rules for media ownership, the onus is back on the commission to re-craft them; a lower court held the agency needed to re-work its justification for many of the rules.
Yet the agency only has four members now; evenly divided between two Republicans and two Democrats.
New FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said he was looking forward to working with all of his colleagues as they re-evaluate the rules.
Commissioner Michael Copps welcomed the decision, saying the FCC has a “fresh opportunity” to develop rules that encourage localism, competition and diversity in media.
“This decision is a rare victory for the public over some of the most powerful corporations in America,” said Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. “We better get it right this time. We need to be very careful because once we allow greater media concentration, we can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.”
Mindful of the “backlash” from 2003, Adelstein said the FCC needs to involve the public and Congress more as it reviews this issue. He called for more public hearings to be held in other parts of the country on the issue.
Ownership Rules Back to FCC
Ownership Rules Back to FCC
