The FCC was back in front of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals again, defending its failure to address declines in minority- and women-owned broadcast stations, amongst other failures. In fact, as our guest, University of Minnesota Prof. Christopher Terry, explains, the Commission claims it’s too hard to assess the change in ownership between 1996 and today.

Prof. Terry notes that the Court expressed skepticism of that claim. It’s just another chapter in the agency’s “legacy of failure,” as he calls it, wherein futile attempt followed by futile attempt to further loosen ownership regulations is built upon a faulty foundation of flimsy data. Yet, that doesn’t mean that the current FCC leadership, backed by the broadcast industry, won’t keep trying. We’ve already seen this in the NAB’s proposal to eliminate local radio ownership caps in hundreds of cities, as we reported in episode #196. Prof. Terry sheds additional light on that proposal, and assesses what a recent Supreme Court decision means for public access television.

Show Notes:

* Court Listener: Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC, Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit* Prof. Christopher Terry: The FCC’s Legacy of Failure: Failure Then Gives Us More Failure Now* Podcast #172 – The FCC at the End of 2018, with Prof. Christopher Terry* Podcast #196 – The Campaign To Keep Local Radio Local* SCOTUS Blog Opinion Analysis: Court holds that First Amendment does not apply to private operator of public-access channels* Podcast #166 – The FCC’s Effort To Decimate Community Media