3rd Circuit Elevated Policy Preferences in Prometheus: NAB to SCOTUS
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' Prometheus IV decision wasn't based on the merits of the FCC's proposed media ownership rules changes or a defect in its competitive analysis, but it instead came from "atextual policy concerns about the…
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gender and racial makeup of broadcast station owners" and thus should be overturned. That's according to NAB, Bonneville, Connoisseur Media, Fox, News Corp., News Media Alliance, Nexstar, The Scranton Times and Sinclair in a Supreme Court docket 19-1231 opening brief Monday. The 3rd Circuit "elevated policy preferences about ownership diversity above Congress’ express competition-based command," they said. Section 202(h) of the Telecom Act doesn't include the goal of advancing minority and female ownership for broadcast stations, so while a laudable goal, it can't be invoked as the reason for preventing the FCC from updating its ownership rules, they said. The FCC, also appealing Prometheus IV, was to have filed a separate brief Monday.