Satellite Last Thursday the House Commerce and Judiciary Committees crafted a compromise bill that would allow satellite broadcasters to carry local TV signals. Tuesday it comes to a vote in the House and is expected to pass on a voice vote. The Senate plans to vote on their merged version of the bill next month. The National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio-Television News Directors Association are challenging the FCC rules in court, arguing that the rules became null and void with the elimination of the fairness doctrine. The rules require stations making political endorsements or airing personal attacks on specific individuals to offer airtime to other candidates or the targets of those attacks to allow them to respond.
Broadcasters oppose the rules, arguing that they inhibit speech.
FCC's General Counsel Christopher Wright argued in court that the rules can stand without the fairness doctrine. Sources following the case said that the court might not say yes or no to the rules, but instead order the FCC to try, for a fourth time, to reach a decision itself. He also said stations were working closely with police stations and cooperating by staying back. Dave Taylor of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department also said that the news media did all they could not to compromise the safety of the kids in the building or the officers. And every kid in this neighborhood has a cell phone and a pager.