The U.S. Supreme Court case Federal Communications Commission v. National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting et al., 1977, dealt with the issue of media cross-ownership and its potential impact on diversity in broadcasting. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had adopted rules prohibiting common ownership of a daily newspaper and a broadcast station operating in the same market area to prevent concentration of control over mass communication outlets which could limit diverse viewpoints. These rules were challenged by several parties including the National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting who argued that they violated First Amendment rights among other things. However, the Supreme Court upheld FCC's regulations stating that it was within their power to adopt such rules as part of their public interest mandate under the Communications Act of 1934. They found no violation of First Amendment rights since there was no restriction on what newspapers or broadcasters could say but only where they can simultaneously own broadcasting stations and newspapers.

The dissenting opinion in the Federal Communications Commission v. National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting case argued that the majority's decision to uphold FCC rules prohibiting cross-ownership of media outlets was an overreach and unnecessary interference with free speech rights. The dissenters believed that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that such cross-ownership inherently led to less diversity in programming or viewpoints, which was a key argument used by the majority. They also expressed concern about potential negative impacts on local news coverage if owners were forced to divest their interests in either broadcasting or newspapers within a single market area. Furthermore, they criticized the FCC's failure to consider less restrictive alternatives before implementing such sweeping regulations.