HIGH COURT GIVES CABLE SOME ELBOW ROOM

The Supreme Court gave cable television greater free-speech rights than airwave competitors, nearly striking down a law that requires them to allot a third of their space to local broadcast stations. Four justices voted to rescind the "must carry" provision of the 1992 Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act, but the remainder decided to ship the case back to federal appeals court in the District of Columbia. The decision has only a short-term effect, though: there'll be plenty of room for the local stations in cable's 500-channel future.