Free Press Sues the FCC for Dramatic Reversal of Media-Ownership Limits That Pave Way for Media Mergers

Free Press has joined Common Cause, Communications Workers of America and the Office of Communication, Inc. of the United Church of Christ to file suit against Federal Communications Commission efforts to repeal local media-ownership limits.

The petition for review, just filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, explains that the agency has failed to consider the impact of its decisions on localism, diversity and competition in broadcast ownership. In particular, the petitioners highlight recent FCC decisions to relax cross-ownership and local television limits and its decisions not to properly account for stations' use of Joint Sales Agreements and Shared Services Agreements (JSAs and SSAs) to evade ownership limits. The filing comes as the FCC is weighing the Sinclair Broadcast Group’s proposed takeover of Tribune Media, which would give Sinclair a broadcast reach far in excess of congressional and FCC limits on national and local media ownership.