EB and Standard/Tegna Battle Over Deadlines
The FCC Enforcement Bureau and the broadcast parties to the Standard/Tegna deal are grappling over a deadline extension for the broadcasters' appeal of the hearing proceeding (see 2303070081) before FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin, according to dueling filings posted…
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Wednesday. The EB asked the ALJ to give it and the other parties in the case -- Common Cause, the United Church of Christ Media Justice Office and two unions -- until March 20 to respond to the broadcasters’ motion to certify the matter to the full commission, while the broadcasters said responses should be due Thursday. “While the matters raised by the Motion to Certify are set forth in a concentrated manner, they represent complex issues that will require additional time and effort,” the EB said. “The May 22, 2023 expiration date for the underlying merger agreement and financing commitments of more than a dozen lenders is fast-approaching,” said the broadcasters. Further delay in the proceeding will “exacerbate the harms” caused by the HDO, they said. The FCC rules governing this unusual set of circumstances aren’t clear on when the deadline should be, according to the bureau. The only deadline for this sort of filing specified in the regulations gives the appealing party just five days to file an application for review, the Standard/Tegna filing said: “It is inappropriate for the Enforcement Bureau to take sides and seek to extend the deadline for oppositions expressly set by FCC rules in order to further delay action on this matter.” The Communications Workers of America's NewsGuild and National Association of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians sectors said Wednesday they don't oppose the EB's extension request.