In an opinion column published this week, Rob Williams, contributing editor with MediaPost, writes that the U.S. Supreme Court should repeal the newspaper-broadcast ownership ban, saying "the prohibition on cross-ownership was intended to prevent a single news source from dominating a community, but has become outdated with the rise of digital media."
In the column, he noted: "The U.S. Supreme Court this week began hearing oral arguments in an appeal that will decide whether the same company can own a broadcast station and newspaper in a local market."
He said, "The lawsuit, Federal Communications Commission v. Prometheus Radio Project, centers on the agency's move in 2017 to relax rules on broadcaster ownership. The wide-ranging reforms included a measure to get rid of a 45-year-old restriction that prevented cross-ownership of local newspapers and TV stations."
