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Court orders fcc to stay new rules { September 4 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Court orders FCC to stay new media rules
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Published: September 4 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: September 4 2003 5:00
The battle over the Federal Communication Commission's new media ownership rules took a dramatic turn on Wednesday when a US court ordered the FCC temporarily to stay the rules.
The FCC voted in June to ease restrictions on media ownership, expected to come into effect on Thursday. The most controversial change increased the national "television cap" - which limited networks to owning local stations that, combined, reach no more than 35 per cent of the national audience - to 45 per cent.
Despite an onslaught of criticism from lawmakers on Capitol Hill and public interest groups, Michael Powell, the FCC chairman, had refused to stay the rules. He argued that they better reflected the modern media marketplace. In an interview with the FT earlier this year he said the cap should be raised to preserve free-to-air television, which he said was under threat from cable and satellite.
But his critics, who include such unlikely bed-fellows as the National Rifle Association and the National Organization for Women, argue that the rules would concentrate too much power in the large media companies. Viacom and News Corporation, which own the CBS and Fox networks, had lobbied the FCC to increase the cap, which they have already breached.
The court decision is the latest blow to the FCC's Republican chairman, who had refused a request by Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein - the two Democrat commissioners - to postpone the introduction of the rules. "The court has done what the commission should have down in the first place," said Mr Copps.
The court decided that the rules should not be introduced pending the outcome of a case brought by a coalition of interests opposed to the FCC. "It is extremely rare for the courts to stay an FCC decision," said one FCC source.
Congress has also taken issue with the FCC rules. The Senate commerce committee and the full House both passed measures that would reinstate the 35 per cent cap. The White House has issued a veto threat against any legislation that tries to roll back the rules.
"While we are disappointed by the decision. to stay the new rules, we will continue to vigorously defend them and look forward to a decision by the court on the merits," said a spokesman for Mr Powell.
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