Ruling represents second historic victory for Prometheus Radio Project this year
Prometheus Press Release
7/7/2011
PHILADELPHIA – On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its long-awaited verdict in Prometheus Radio Project v. the Federal Communications Commission, rejecting the FCC’s attempt to further deregulate media ownership. The Court threw out FCC rules that would have allowed one company to own a newspaper and broadcast stations in the same market. The Court also upheld the FCC’s other limits on local broadcast ownership, and agreed with Prometheus and other public interest groups that the FCC failed to consider the impact of its rules on women and people of color.
"We won on almost every point. This decision is a vindication of the public's right to have a diverse media environment,” said Andrew Jay Schwartzman of Media Access Project, who argued the case on behalf of Prometheus.
This is the second major victory this year for the Prometheus Radio Project, whose ten-year effort to pass legislation expanding community radio succeeded when President Obama signed the bipartisan Local Community Radio Act into law on January 4. The law will result in thousands of new community radio stations, and the FCC will be accepting applications for stations as early as next summer.
