Media Access Project asked the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelph...
Media Access Project asked the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia, to overturn the FCC’s media ownership rules. MAP’s appeal, filed on behalf of the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project, also asked the court to delay the effectiveness of the FCC’s…
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decision until the judicial review was complete. Absent such a stay, the new rules become effective Sept. 4. NAB filed an appeal in the D.C. Circuit, so MAP’s filing sets up a lottery whereby all the appeals will be heard before one court. MAP argued that, given the likelihood that Congress would overturn all or part of the order, Prometheus would incur “irreparable harm” without a stay. It said that without a stay, “massive consolidation” would happen before court action was finished. MAP called the order arbitrary and capricious and said the agency had failed to analyze how its new cross-media limit would affect competition in the market for local news. MAP also charged that the order had “glaring” inconsistencies, among them that it counted UHF stations differently for purposes of national TV limits and local limits, and that the FCC’s decision to count noncommercial radio stations effectively raised limits in radio, too. The FCC’s decision to use bright line rules while refusing to consider challenges to transfers in compliance with the rules violates the Communications Act, MAP said. Finally, it said, the FCC failed to provide adequate public notice under the Administrative Procedure Act.