Five owners of broadcasters and daily newspapers in the same market...

Five owners of broadcasters and daily newspapers in the same market sought a delay, to 60 days after the FCC releases an upcoming order on its delayed 2010 quadrennial media ownership review, to change pending requests to the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule. Bonneville International, Calvary, Cox Enterprises, Morris Communications and Scranton Times want to extend the Sept. 27 NBCO deadline for supplements set by the Media Bureau last month (http://xrl.us/bno79v). It dismissed as moot those companies’ request to extend a cross-ownership waiver deadline for the 2006 ownership review, after the Supreme Court this summer said it wouldn’t consider challenges to that quadrennial order. “Changes to the NBCO Rule currently are under Commission consideration on remand from the Third Circuit and in the pending 2010 Quadrennial Media Ownership Review” (CD Jan 20 p4), the five media companies said in a new motion. “Until that proceeding is concluded, the NBCO Rule and the applicable standards for evaluation of waivers of that rule are uncertain and subject to change.” Making the companies file waiver supplements now, and at the FCC “the attendant staff review of those requests, would be a substantial waste of both private and administrative resources,” said Monday’s filing in docket 06-121 (http://xrl.us/bno8a6). “The Media Parties hereby represent that they will file such supplements notwithstanding the pendency of any administrative or judicial challenges to the Commission’s Report and Order and regardless of whether the NBCO Rule adopted by the Commission is effective or its effectiveness has been stayed."