In the case of City of Pottsville v. United States et al., 1967, the city of Pottsville in Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other parties involved in broadcasting. The dispute arose from FCC's decision to grant a construction permit for a new television station that would potentially interfere with an existing local TV station's signal. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of FCC, stating that it had acted within its authority under the Communications Act when it granted this permit without considering potential interference issues as raised by Pottsville. The court held that while there may be some inconvenience caused due to overlapping signals, such considerations were not sufficient grounds to overturn FCC’s decision which was made following statutory procedures and requirements.

In the dissenting opinion for the case of City of Pottsville v. United States et al., Justice Douglas argued that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had overstepped its authority by granting a television license to a company in an area already served by another station. He contended that this decision was not in line with FCC's mandate to ensure fair and efficient distribution of service among communities, as it would lead to duplication rather than diversification of programming. Furthermore, he believed that such decisions should be made through legislation rather than administrative action, highlighting concerns about separation of powers and democratic accountability. Finally, he expressed concern about potential negative impacts on localism in broadcasting due to concentration of media ownership.