The Score Is 4-0: FCC Media Ownership Policy, Prometheus Radio Project, and Judicial Review

Media ownership continues to be an important democratic issue mired in a complicated policy limbo. The relationship between the control of media outlets, the sources of information, and the range of viewpoint diversity available to citizens has been at the center of a continuing legal impasse between the FCC and the courts. Even in the Internet age, access to local news and information is an important element in maximizing political participation, and so broadcasting retains a central role in the media use of everyday Americans. Here, Terry et al. trace the implementation of FCC media ownership policy since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 19969 through the FCC's continuing legal battle with the Prometheus Radio Project.