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(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
WASHINGTON (CN) As the Supreme Court closed in finally on a deregulation effort dating back to the late ’90s, a lawyer for the government told the justices Tuesday that a media cross-ownership ban was meant for another era.
The Federal Communications Commission instituted the ban back in the 1970s, said Deputy U.S. Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart, with radio and television cross-ownership in mind.
“The rules were justified by considerations of viewpoint diversity,” Stewart said, “but what the commission meant was, it’s better to have more independent outlets in the community.”
For today’s media, however, Stewart emphasized that the rule “didn’t serve the public interest.”