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Information about MAP’s court case against the FCC is available on MAP’s court website.
On September 12, 2002, the FCC started a proceeding to review all the media ownership rules currently on the books. The FCC completed this proceeding in a vote that took place on June 2, 2003. MAP Backgrounder on June 2 decision. MAP press release press release on June 2 decision. The FCC released the full text of the FCC’s decision on July 2. This proposal was a tremendous blow to democracy and civic discourse. For an explanation of the import of these rules, see Cheryl Leanza and Harold Feld's article "More than a Toaster with Pictures: Defending Media Ownership Limits," in Fall 2003 issue of Communications Lawyer.
The wave of public protest that was engendered around the country against the FCC’s rules continued after the decision was issued. Congress is considering overturning all or part of the decision. For legislative updates, see Consumers Union, Common Cause, and Free Press.
Table of Contents:
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Background
This proceeding combined previous FCC proceedings and directives from several court decisions. This review process is required by law -- a provision of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Section 202(h), requires the FCC to review its media ownership rules every 2 years. This spring in a case called Fox Television v. FCC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that in every review the FCC must re-justify every major ownership rule or strike it from the books.
The FCC proceeding will consider the following existing rules (some of which were already under consideration in other proceedings):
National Broadcast Ownership Cap - limits the ability of any entity to have an ownership interest in broadcast licensees covering more than 35% of the country (remanded by the D.C. Circuit in Fox Television v. FCC).
Dual Network Rule - Prevents major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) from owning interests in each other.
Newspaper Broadcast Cross-ownership - Prevents an entity from owning a broadcast station and a daily newspaper in the same market.
"Duopoly" Rule -- limits the number of broadcast stations an entity can own in any given market (remanded by D.C. Cir. in Sinclair v. FCC).
Local radio competition limits -- examines the number of radio stations an entity may own in a local area.
FCC Order and Commissioner Statements:
FCC Releases Text of Report and Order Setting Limits on Media Concentration
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FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Commissioner Statements:
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FCC Media Ownership Working Group Studies and Access to Data
On October 1, 2002, the FCC released a series of studies and analyses that would provide a basis for its media ownership proceeding.
- Getting Public Access to the Data
- The FCC did not grant access to the underlying data in the studies. MAP asked the FCC to grant the public access to the data. On November 5, 2002, the FCC granted a 30 day extension and granted the public access to all the underlying data, with significant limits, in the 2002 Biennial Review proceeding.
- Terms of Public Access to Data
- The public will have access, and will be able to manipulate the data.
- The data can only be accessed on site at the FCC and it must stay on site.
- Any results produced from manipulating the data must also stay on site.
- The FCC also is making the authors of the studies available to help members of the public use the software and understand their analysis.
- To access the data, a person was required to sign a protective order agreeing to keep the data secret, and then go to the FCC's public reference room and use their computer to look at and manipulate the data.
- FCC Material on Granting Access to Data
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Public Interest Response to FCC Proceeding
Here are MAP's materials and selected other materials.
- On December 4, 2002, Children Now lead a coalition of children's experts criticizing the FCC for ignoring the impact of media ownership on children, and demanding a meeting with Chairman Powell.
- On December 16, 2002, MAP ally Consumer Federation of America releases comprehensive analysis supporting media ownership limits.
- On December 18, 2002, a large number of major media unions issued a critique of the FCC's 12 media ownership studies.
- On January 2, 2003, CFA and other allies including MAP submitted comprehensive comments to the FCC. (Complete comments are 296 pages, 837 KB). Read the executive summary.
- AFL-CIO Executive Council Statement, Media Monopolies: A Threat to American Democracy, February 26, 2003 .
- On May 2, 2003 MAP cosigned a letter with Consumers Union and other public interest groups in support of the resolution. (The letter uses an older reference number, H. Res. 212. This was changed when Hinchey introduced a new version of the resolution. The correct number for the pending resolution is Resolution 218).
- On May 6, 2003, Rep. Hinchey (D-NY) introduced a resolution, H. Res. 218, calling upon the FCC to delay any action on the media ownership rules until the American people are fully informed of the possible impact of any such action and until the FCC conducts a more careful study. MAP fully supports this resolution. Those interested in supporting the resolution should take the opportunity to write their Representative asking them to support H.Res. 218 and should circulate this notice to other interested parties. Please redistribute the text of this resolution to any relevant mailing lists.
- May 29, MAP filed a detailed letter explaining why the UHF discount is no longer justified.
- On June 2, the FCC announces its changes to media ownership rules. MAP Press Release.
MAP Press Backgrounder.
- Common Cause Action Kit opposing FCC decision
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Hearings and Fora Around the Country on Media Ownership
Commissioner Michael Copps asked Chairman Powell to discuss the media ownership issue in fora or hearings around the country. The Chairman initially refused, and eventually relented and held one official hearing. Public interest groups around the country held their own hearings and invited FCC Commissioners. Below are a selected few:
MAP and Other Public Interest Advocates Challenge FCC Media Ownership Order in Court
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The "Newspaper-Broadcast Ownership" Rule
The newspaper broadcast cross ownership rule prohibits a newspaper from owning a broadcast station in the same local area and vice versa. The FCC adopted this rule in 1975. The Supreme Court upheld the rule against constitutional attack in a case called NCCB v. FCC.. At the time the FCC adopted the rule, it allowed many existing newspaper-broadcast combinations to keep their combinations. Many of these "grandfathered" combinations continue to exist today.
In September 2001, the FCC initiated a proceeding to relax or eliminate the rule. (See FCC's Press Release describing the proceeding and the text of FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.)
Media Access Project and other public interest organizations filed at the FCC in favor of preserving the rule:
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Other Comments in support of rule:
Other resources on the Newspaper Broadcast rule:
- AFL-CIO supports Newspaper Broadcast Rule, sponsors forum.
- Newspaper Guild believes the Newspaper Broadcast Rule helps journalistic quality.
- Seattle Times Owner Frank Blethen supports the newspaper broadcast rule. A Voice In the Wilderness, Editor & Publisher, March 18, 2002
In 1997 the FCC considered relaxing or repealing the rule, but it determined the rule should remain in place.
1997 FCC Filings in Support of the Newspaper Broadcast Rule:
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National Cable Ownership Limit
The national cable ownership cap prohibits one company from owning stations that pass more than 30 percent of total US households. Congress directed the FCC to adopt this limit when it passed the 1992 Cable Act. The FCC selected the 30 percent limit. Unfortunately, the FCC has never enforced this rule because an early court decision called its constitutionality into question.
"Attribution" rules form the basis upon which the FCC's ownership rules operate. Ownership rules would be straightforward to apply if one person owned each company. However, in today's world, companies are owned and influenced through many complex relationships, partial shares, and subsidiaries. The FCC's attribution rules recognize these complex relationships, and are similar to rules used by the SEC to detect influence over a corporation. Modifications to the FCC's attribution rules will alter ownership rules that rely on them.
In March 2001, the early law suit about these rules finally was completed and a federal appeals court decision concluded the FCC's selection of a 30 percent cap was not sufficiently well-justified to withstand constitutional scrutiny, but it upheld most of the attribution rules.
In September 2001, the FCC initiated a proceeding to consider the national ownership rule and the attribution rule again on remand from the court. (See FCC Press Release on the subject, Text of FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Statement of Commissioner Copps.)
Media Access Project filed in support of establishing the rule at 30 percent:
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In December 2001, the FCC relaxed certain aspects of the attribution rules it previously strengthened.
Media Access Project has been fighting to have the national cable rule implemented for many years. Other prior FCC fillings by Media Access Project about the national cable cap:
Prior filings on the cable attribution rules:
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Cable Program Access Rules
Program access rules ensure robust competition between certain incumbent monopoly cable operators and others who offer video programming. If a cable company owns certain popular programming, it might be able to stifle competition by refusing to sell that programming to its competitors. For example, it would be difficult for a satellite television operator to successfully compete if it could not offer AOL/Time Warner's CNN channel. Thus, the program access rules require cable operators that own programming to sell that programming to others under certain conditions. Program access rules were adopted as part of the 1992 Cable Act. They are scheduled to sunset in October 2002 unless the Commission acts to extend them.
The Commission initiated a proceeding
in December 2001 to consider this question and MAP filed reply comments in support of their continuation responding to the rule's opponents.
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Local Radio Ownership
The local radio ownership rule allows ownership of up to 8 radio stations (on a sliding scale) in a local market, depending on total number of stations in market. Congress repealed the national radio ownership cap in 1996, thus, this is the last significant rule promoting diverse national radio ownership, with the exception of the new low power radio service.
In November 2001, the FCC initiated a proceeding to reconsider its local radio ownership limits. (See FCC Local Radio Ownership Press Release and Full text of FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking).
The Georgetown University Law Center student law clinic filed
comments on behalf of the United Church of Christ in this proceeding on May 8, 2002.
MAP filed comments on May 9, 2002 showing that diversity is decreasing in radio.
Additional resources on radio consolidation:
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Local Television Ownership Rules
This rule limits ownership to two television stations in same market only if that market has 8 independent voices, and, one of the two stations is not among the top four stations in that market. Sometimes this rule is referred to as the "duopoly" rule.
In August 1999 the FCC adopted the present rule. In the past, no owner was allowed to possess more than one local television station. (See August 1999 FCC Order .) The 1999 decision took an important step with respect to "LMAs" or local marketing agreements. LMAs, prior to 1999, were a method used by television station owners to control a station but avoid the FCC's ownership limits. After 1999, LMAs will be considered attributable (see above for more information about attribution rules). At the same time the FCC closed this loophole in the local TV rules, it also adopted the present rule, which increases the number of television stations a single owner can control in a local market.
This rule was challenged in court. See MAP's court proceedings page.
Filings on local television ownership rule and similar rules:
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Dual Networks Rule
Since the earliest days of broadcasting, FCC rules in effect prohibited a single entity from operating two broadcast networks. In the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Congress relaxed this rule to allow major networks (such as ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) to create new networks. In 2001, the FCC further relaxed the rule by allowing a major network to purchase or merge with an emerging network (such as WB or UPN). The major networks are still prohibited from merging with one another.
- October 2000 Reply Comments filed by MAP supporting retention of the rule.
- FCC May 2001 Order amending rule to allow one of the major television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX) to own one of the emerging television networks (WB and UPN). This change allowed CBS to purchase Viacom, which operates UPN.
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