Another Blow to Local Journalism

WASHINGTON -- Responding to today's interim decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on the Federal Communications Commission's media ownership rules, Free Press Executive Director Josh Silver said:

"We are disappointed that the Third Circuit decided to lift the stay and allow the relaxed newspaper-broadcast cross ownership rule from the Kevin Martin era to go into effect. Vibrant local news is vital for our democracy, and without competition, newsmakers and media are less accountable. Evidence suggests that merging newspaper and broadcast newsrooms hurts jobs and journalism. We hope the Federal Communications Commission will take decisive action to protect media diversity and to encourage competition in local news."

Internet Speech Cases Turn on Procedural Grounds as the Supreme Court Articulates Strong First Amendment Protections for Content Moderation

While the Court remanded these cases for more fact-finding by the lower courts, it noted laws that prevent platforms from deciding which speech it will or will not host are “unlikely to withstand First Amendment scrutiny.”
California Bill That Would Support Local Journalism Jobs Passes the State Senate

As the bill moves to the state Assembly, lawmakers must ensure that resulting revenues prioritize community-centered and noncommercial outlets.
Supreme Court Ruling on Social Media Affirms the First Amendment and the Government’s Responsibility to Protect the Public from the Harms of Online Misinformation

The case arose out of the Biden administration’s efforts to call on social-media platforms to remove lies about the COVID-19 pandemic and the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Internet Speech Cases Turn on Procedural Grounds as the Supreme Court Articulates Strong First Amendment Protections for Content Moderation

California Bill That Would Support Local Journalism Jobs Passes the State Senate

Supreme Court Ruling on Social Media Affirms the First Amendment and the Government’s Responsibility to Protect the Public from the Harms of Online Misinformation