|
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Chairman of the Future of American Media Caucus, today released the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Third Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that overturned the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) order that weakened media ownership rules.
"I applaud today's decision by the Supreme Court to reject an appeal by big media conglomerates to reinstate the weakened media ownership protections that former Federal Communications Chairman Michael Powell rammed through the FCC on a partisan vote just over two years ago, without public comment. The Powell rules were nothing more than a huge gift to big media and a giant slap in the face to the rest of us. The country is substantially better off without them.
"The media ownership issue, however, is far from settled. The rules are now back in the FCC's court and I urge the new Chairman to allow the public to be fully engaged in the debate over the future of our media and not repeat the mistakes of his predecessor. The public has made it clear that it wants a diverse and independent media that is locally accountable. The FCC can no longer ignore that sentiment and most members of Congress will be following the FCC's actions closely to make sure it doesn't."
|
