{
  "id": "RL32460",
  "type": "CRS Report",
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      "id": 356110,
      "date": "2010-02-01",
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      "title": "Legal Challenge to the FCC\u2019s Media Ownership Rules: An Overview of Prometheus Radio v. FCC and Recent Regulatory Developments",
      "summary": "In December 2007, the Federal Communications Commission relaxed its newspaper/broadcast ownership ban (order released February 2008). The decision raised concerns in Congress about increasing media consolidation that have long been at the forefront of the debate over ownership restrictions. The Commission\u2019s order served to rekindle the discussion of media consolidation and the perceived need to take action to preserve a diversity of voices in the marketplace of ideas. The FCC rule, as this report illustrates, has a history dating back to a previous failed attempt to relax a greater number of broadcast cross-ownership restrictions, and it is worthwhile to examine this previous proceeding in order to understand the current status of the rules.\nOn June 2, 2003, the FCC adopted a set of comprehensive rules addressing six different aspects of media ownership, including cross-ownership of broadcast and print media, local television and radio ownership, and national television ownership. On June 24, 2004, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Prometheus Radio v. FCC, remanded several of these rules to the Commission for further consideration finding that the Commission failed to adequately justify the numerical limitations used in the rules. This report provides an overview of the Commission\u2019s 2002 Biennial Review from which the 2003 rules originated and the Prometheus case.\nThe report also addresses current issues facing the actions taken by the FCC in response to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals\u2019 decision in Prometheus. On December 18, 2007, the FCC concluded its review of broadcast ownership rules by relaxing the newspaper/broadcast station cross-ownership restrictions in certain markets. All other broadcast ownership rules, however, remain unchanged.\nThe relaxation of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule as well as the other ownership rules passed by the FCC in December 2007 have yet to go into effect. Pursuant to the Third Circuit\u2019s final order in the Prometheus case, the FCC\u2019s newest rules may not take effect until the Third Circuit lifts its stay. On June 12, 2009, the Third Circuit decided to keep the stay in place until further order of the court. On October 1, 2009, the FCC filed a status report with the Third Circuit. The FCC argued that the stay should remain in place, because the 2008 order no longer incorporates the views of a majority of the Commissioners and the agency is set to begin a new review of the media ownership rules that should be completed in 2010.",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc816252/",
      "id": "RL32460_2008Jun30",
      "date": "2008-06-30",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
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      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820509/",
      "id": "RL32460_2005Jun27",
      "date": "2005-06-27",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Legal Challenge to the FCC\u2019s Media Ownership Rules: An Overview of Prometheus Radio v. FCC",
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