Effectively backing consumer advocates' position against further media consolidation, the Supreme Court declined Monday to hear appeals by media companies challenging the constitutionality of ownership restrictions, Reuters reports. Instead, it left regulation up to federal regulators - which have eased ownership limits, including cross-ownership of newspapers, television stations and radio outlets, but kept restrictions to protect smaller markets. Appeals by large media companies, including Tribune and Gannett, argued - apparently unconvincingly - that even those limits violate free speech rights and the 1996 Telecommunications Act.