Court Voids Bill Singling Out Murdoch : Measure Barred His Ownership of Paper, TV Outlet in Same City

A law that barred publisher Rupert Murdoch from continuing to own television stations and newspapers in the same city was struck down today as unconstitutional by a federal appeals court.

The divided panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here voided a provision passed by Congress late last year, at the urging of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), that would force Murdoch to sell the Boston Herald or WFXT-TV in that city by June 30 to comply with rules that forbid single ownership of a newspaper and a television station in one city.

New York Sale Stands

The 2-1 court decision does not affect Murdoch’s $37-million sale of the New York Post to real estate developer Peter Kalikow, a deal that was spurred by the law’s enactment as part of a massive spending bill.

But the court’s ruling could enable Murdoch to retain temporarily ownership of both his Boston media outlets if the Federal Communications Commission extends his waiver from the enforcement of the common-ownership rule.

The court ordered the FCC to consider Murdoch’s application to extend the temporary waiver that he has held since 1986.

Political Motivation Seen

Murdoch charged that the law forbidding the FCC to extend his temporary waivers for both the New York Post and the Boston Herald was politically motivated and amounted to an unconstitutional attempt to silence criticism of Kennedy by the Herald.

The court ruled that the provision of a massive spending bill was unconstitutional because it singled out Murdoch’s News America Inc.

While the court declined to inquire into Congress’s motives, it concluded that the provision “strikes at Murdoch with the precision of a laser beam,” and therefore violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution.