Court restores ban on media ownership -- Sends rules back to FCC to be rewritten

WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court has restored a longstandingban that prevents media companies from owning both a newspaper and atelevision station in the same market.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia saidThursday that the Federal Communications Commission didn't give thepublic adequate opportunity to comment on new rules that lifted theban in the 20 largest media markets. The appeals court sent therules back to the FCC to be rewritten.

The so-called cross-ownership ban dates back to 1975 - a timewhen newspapers dominated the media industry. In 2007, then-FCCChairman Kevin Martin, a Bush administration appointee, moved toease those restrictions in the biggest media markets. He argued thatthe ban no longer made sense in a media landscape that had beenupended by the Internet and had left many daily newspapersstruggling for survival.

Public interest groups challenged Martin's move and warned thattoo much consolidation would lead to less diversity in newscoverage.

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, head of the nonprofit law firm MediaAccess Project, which led the challenge, hailed Thursday's ruling."We're extremely pleased that the court recognized that the publichas a right to a diverse media environment," he said.

Congress requires the FCC to review its media-ownership rulesevery four years. Those rules include the cross-ownershiprestrictions and limits on the number of television and radiostations that one company can own in a market. Thursday's rulingcomes as the current FCC, now under Democratic control, is seekingto wrap up its latest review, which began last year.

In a statement Thursday, the FCC said the current review willallow it to take "appropriate steps to ensure that the nation'smedia marketplace remains healthy and vibrant."