We each retrieve what we learned from “Schoolhouse Rock”: Congress writes laws, the president enforces them, and the courts measurement successful to resoluteness disputes.
Executive agencies tin construe statutes and acceptable enforcement priorities, but they cannot alteration oregon override a statutory mandate. It’s been this mode since the Constitution was written (and since “Schoolhouse Rock” livened up Saturday mornings!) and it’s existent today. Agencies cannot bargain Congress’ powerfulness by ignoring oregon overturning statutory law.
Yet that’s precisely what the Federal Communications Commission is readying to bash erstwhile it votes to destruct the existent 39% “ownership cap,” which limits the size of U.S. TV presumption groups. It’s a wholly lawless workout that volition undermine contention and jobs, deter innovation, thrust up prices and regenerate applicable section quality with canned nationalist storylines.
This anticipated effect isn’t a adjacent case, and it’s not a partisan oregon a governmental 1 either. Alongside a chorus of Democratic leaders and civil rights organizations, a wide scope of conservatives from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to respected Supreme Court litigators also person warned that the FCC lacks powerfulness to “eliminate” a legislature request similar the 39% cap.
It’s casual to spot why. The headdress was a effect to increasing media consolidation successful the 1980s and 1990s. As presumption groups grew larger by swallowing up competitors successful antithetic cities, communities astir the state became alarmed astir centralization of the news, and the nonaccomplishment of section voices and perspectives, and rampant presumption closures and occupation losses successful broadcast journalism.
Ultimately, successful 2004, Congress acted to support broadcast contention and localism by passing a statute stating nary TV presumption radical could scope much than 39% of American households.
That percent was nary mishap oregon afterthought. Former FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, who negotiated the fig arsenic a Republican legislature staffer, has explained that it was a cautiously negotiated compromise designed to “set the nationalist assemblage scope bounds astatine 39% erstwhile and for all.”
Over the years, disputes person arisen implicit the champion mode to find a station’s “audience reach,” arsenic good arsenic broadside issues specified arsenic the attraction of channels that usage antithetic broadcast frequencies and technologies. No 1 earnestly questioned the halfway 39% limitation. In aggregate transactions, the FCC has enforced the headdress by requiring merging TV groups to divest capable stations to get nether the cap. These divestitures person helped bring astir caller entrants successful broadcast presumption ownership and aided smaller groups successful competing successful their markets.
That’s a bully thing. In this property of centralization and consolidation, the headdress helps sphere 1 of the past areas of contention and media diversity, ensuring that trusted, section voices don’t get merged retired of beingness and that journalism remains a viable way for the adjacent procreation of reporters and producers. All communities, careless of demographics, income, geography oregon governmental affiliation, request relevant, section perspectives and sum — precisely what Congress sought to support erstwhile it passed the 39% assemblage scope limitation.
Abandoning that bounds would unleash a flood of mergers, presumption closures and centralization, leaving millions of Americans astatine the mercy of distant firm giants. Smaller and autarkic broadcasters, including those serving diverse, underserved audiences and communities, would beryllium particularly vulnerable. Consumers would endure too, forced to wage higher cablegram oregon outer TV bills arsenic bigger, much almighty stations request higher “retransmission” consent fees for their escaped section channels and shows.
One request lone look astatine the pending mega-merger of Nexstar and Tegna to spot what’s astatine stake. That monolithic woody projected creating a nationwide broadcast goliath with much than 260 stations, reaching 80% of American households. The FCC tried to unreserved done that woody by unlawfully claiming the powerfulness to “waive” the 39% cap, but much than a twelve states’ attorneys wide went to tribunal to halt the merger, winning a preliminary injunction that puts the woody connected clasp until courts tin afloat measure the menace it poses to consumers, section quality and user prices.
Of course, Congress has already weighed successful connected those concerns by enacting a mandatory statutory headdress that bars deals similar this from being approved successful the archetypal place.
The FCC should wantonness its unconstitutional program to override Congress’ wide absorption successful limiting TV presumption concatenation consolidation. If not, past arsenic immoderate “Schoolhouse Rock” instrumentality could explain, it’ll find itself connected the losing extremity successful tribunal soon enough.
Robert Branson is the president and CEO of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
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