Standard/Tegna Deal Parties Challenge MB, ALJ Authority
The FCC’s administrative law judge should immediately certify to the full FCC an application for review of the Media Bureau order designating Standard/Tegna for hearing, said Standard, Tegna and Cox Media group in a motion Friday. “At a minimum, no…
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hearing should proceed before the Commission can rule on the Media Bureau’s mistaken premise,” the motion said. Several attorneys told us that under FCC rules, hearing designation orders can’t be appealed to the full FCC until the ALJ has made a final ruling in the matter, but the broadcast parties disagree. “Subjecting the Applications to a full evidentiary hearing effectively is a denial of the Applications and, therefore, the Media Bureau’s issuance of the HDO is a “final” agency action masquerading under the guise of an interlocutory decision,” said the filing’s final footnote. The motion questions the authority of the Media Bureau to block the deal over retransmission consent and staffing concerns and emphasizes that action must be taken quickly. The deal’s May 22 “final extension date” “will come and go long before a full evidentiary hearing could be completed. The Applicants have no ability to extend that deadline,” the motion said. “If the FCC fails to grant the Applications before that date, the financing obligations of more than a dozen lenders helping to fund the transactions will expire as well.” The filing also questions the constitutionality of the FCC’s ALJ, raising points based on recent U.S. Court of Appeals ruling and U.S. Supreme Court arguments. “There is a controlling question of law as to whether an FCC ALJ is even permitted to make rulings in this matter as required by the Media Bureau’s HDO,” the motion said. “The Commission should have the opportunity to decide whether it wants to avoid a constitutional challenge to its ALJ before this matter proceeds further.” The broadcasters intend to file for relief directly with the FCC March 17 if their request is still pending and, “if necessary, subsequently to seek judicial review,” the motion said.