Citing First Amendment, FCC Rejects Chicago TV License Challenge

December 13, 2006

Just in: the FCC has rejected an attempt to suspend the license renewal of all 18 tv stations in the Chicago market.

The attempt was initiated by Third Coast Press, a left-wing newspaper who complained that the stations were all "systematically negligent" in serving the public.

Filed a year ago, the complaint alleged that the stations provided inadequate coverage of public affairs, opting instead for "police actions, crime and celebrity trivia" over more meaningful subjects, such as Iraq war analysis and debate.

The petition "contains statements of opinion as opposed to the specific allegations of facts necessary to make out a prima facie case that any of the licensees have failed to serve the public interest," said FCC Media Bureau chief Barbara Kreisman, in a letter to the group led by Third Coast. She said that if the FCC were to take action on the complain, the FCC would violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by "improperly (interfering) with the programming decisions of the licensees."