As we previously reported, the deregulatory changes the FCC recently adopted to its media ownership rules are due to take effect on Feb. 7. Prometheus Radio Project and Media Mobilizing Project, however, have filed an appeal of those rule changes in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and, as expected, have now … Continue Reading
The Janet Jackson case is, for all intents and purposes, finished. But, as has been customary with just about everything surrounding L'Affaire Jackson, even the Supreme Court's final order included some unexpected flair.… Continue Reading
For some insight into what the Court's recent decision on indecency means going forward, we called on the Swami, Kevin Goldberg. Not surprisingly, he had some thoughts.… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has sent the Fox and NYPD Blue cases back down to the Second Circuit. While that might sound like bad news for broadcasters, that's not necessarily the case. In fact, Fox and ABC can clearly view this decision as a significant victory.… Continue Reading
On January 10, the Swami and the Blogmeister took a field trip to the Supreme Court to catch the Fox/ABC indecency argument. Here's their report.… Continue Reading
In a long-awaited if anticlimactic decision, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has again sided with CBS in its fight with the FCC over the 2004 Super Bowl® half-time show.… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Fox and NYPD Blue cases next term -- and the constitutionality of the FCC's indecency regime will be the only issue on the docket.… Continue Reading
Like a hard-core poker player on a losing streak, the Commission isn't going to let a recent string of defeats discourage it. Au contraire, the FCC's going double-or-nothing: it has asked the Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit's 2010 indecency decisions in the Fox and NYPD Blue cases.… Continue Reading
After the Second Circuit declared the FCC's indecency policy unconstitutional,the FCC had only three options if it wanted to fight to defend its indecency regime. It has now made its choice.… Continue Reading
In response to a surge of reader interest in his prognostications, Kevin Goldberg has agreed to give us a look-see into Kevin's Krystal Ball for a prediction of how the Supreme Court may vote if the Second Circuit's recent indecency decision in Fox goes back up.… Continue Reading
Now that the initial hoopla attendant to the release of the Second Circuit's Fox decision has quieted down, let's take a gander at legal scenarios that might be in store for us on the indecency front.… Continue Reading
In a huge win for broadcasters and First Amendment-loving citizens, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has struck down the FCC's indecency policy.… Continue Reading
It's been 35 years since any new permanent commonly-owned newspaper/broadcast combinations could be created in any given U.S. market. But that may now change, although exactly when any changes may be realized is still up in the air.… Continue Reading
The D.C. Circuit has affirmed the prohibition against exclusivity arrangements between cable operators and cable-affiliated programming networks. But the likelihood of that prohibition staying on the shelves beyond its current sell-by date (i.e., 2012) is dubious.… Continue Reading
Two days into its 2009-2010 term, the Supreme Court sank its teeth into a case which could have a profound impact on all First Amendment free speech rights, and particularly those of the news media. Kevin Goldberg attended the argument in U.S. v. Stevens - read his report here.… Continue Reading
"Interactive". For webcasters, it's a word that makes a huge difference. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has recently become the first U.S. appellate court to consider, and shed definitive light on, the meaning of "interactive" in the context of webcasting.… Continue Reading
The subscriber cap which the Commission adopted in 2007 to keep cable companies from acquiring too much control of program delivery mechanisms is officially toast.… Continue Reading
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has upheld the Commission's Intermodal Number Portability order, but in so doing, the Court has signaled its impatience with the FCC's slow-motion deliberations in the related intercarrier compensation (ICC) proceeding.… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the FCC's appeal of the 2008 decision which reversed the forfeiture meted out to CBS for the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident. But having agreed to hear the appeal, the Supremes lost no time in vacating the lower court's decision… Continue Reading
As previously reported, the Supreme Court has reversed the Second Circuit's ruling that the FCC's latest policy on "fleeting expletives" was fatally flawed. Here's a summary of the six opinions -- majority, concurring and dissenting -- issued by the Justices.… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. The good news here is that the Supreme Court's ruling changes very little on the indecency front. But the bad news is that the decision effects a major shift in a seemingly mundane legal doctrine, a shift that could affect FCC regulatory activity in all respects for years to come.… Continue Reading