Radio Application for Review Runs Afoul of 'Chutzpah Doctrine'
A radio station's application for review was denied by a unanimous FCC decision and “ran afoul of the chutzpah doctrine,” Commissioner Ajit Pai said in a statement released with the order. Marfa Public Radio had filed the application for review…
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disputing a Media Bureau decision to grant a construction application from Houston Christian Broadcasters. Marfa owns the tower to which the HCB transmitter is attached, and had filed a competing construction application. The bureau should reject the HCB application because HCB didn't timely disclose that the tower housing its transmitter was bought by Marfa in 2008, Marfa argued. The FCC said Marfa hadn't informed HCB of the ownership change or updated the FCC's antenna registration system until 2015, making it plausible that HCB was unaware of the ownership change. “Now, Marfa complains that Houston failed to notify the Commission within 30 days of Marfa’s purchase of the tower that Houston no longer had assurance that the tower would be available to it. Really?” asked Pai in his statement, which included a footnote citing a Saturday Night Live sketch.