U.S. court OKs ban on political ads on public TV, radio

Source: Reuters

BY JONATHAN STEMPEL
Mon Dec 2, 2013 4:09pm EST

(Reuters) - A divided U.S. appeals court on Monday upheld a federal ban on political advertising on public television and radio stations, rejecting an argument that it unconstitutionally violated the First Amendment.

By an 8-3 vote, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco let stand a 1981 federal statute that prohibits public stations from transmitting paid advertisements on behalf of political candidates, issues of public importance or interest and for-profit entities.

Supporters of the law have expressed concern about turning public stations into forums for political attack ads, undermining their ability to emphasize public affairs and educational programming such as PBS NewsHour and Sesame Street.

Both the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio Inc had urged that the law be deemed constitutional.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/02/us-usa-courts-publictv-idUSBRE9B10LK20131202