Public TV on Supreme Court Docket • FCC’s Net Neutrality Defense Strategy

Public access TV’s ability to eliminate offensive content hangs in the balance.

The Supreme Court will hear a case that calls for a ruling on whether public access television stations that run local citizens’ content are public forums protected by the First Amendment. The high court likely will schedule oral argument for early next year.

Manhattan Community Access petitioned the court, following a legal battle that stemmed from its decision to remove two video producers’ allegedly offensive content. The video producers sued Manhattan, arguing that public television is a public forum and that the city helped to choose Manhattan to ...