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The FCC lost in court for the fourth time on September 23, in what’s become a really bad habit in the case known as Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals keeps sending the Commission back to do homework to justify with evidence the changes it wants to make in loosening media ownership rules. And the Commission just keeps failing.
Prof. Christopher Terry of the University of Minnesota returns to tell us why the FCC failed again this time. He notes that the FCC has been at it for fifteen years. This means media ownership policy has seen nary an update pretty much since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which infamously triggered massive consolidation in broadcast radio and television. Prof. Terry explains why this stalemate doesn’t serve the public interest, in part because the overall diversity in media has declined sharply in that time.
He also lets us know about a recent buried change in FCC procedure that threatens to undermine the voice of local citizens and groups in commenting on Commission rules and proceedings.
Show Notes:
- Prof. Terry’s companion piece: The FCC’s Score in Media Ownership Policy is 0 – 4
- The FCC’s Legacy of Failure: Failure Then Gives Us More Failure Now
- Could the FCC’s Legacy of Failure Trigger Even More Consolidation?
- Podcast #33 – 20 Years Ago Local Radio Was Crushed
- Happy (?) 21st Birthday to the Telecom Act of 1996
