The full FCC has denied a petition for reconsideration from a broadcaster challenging the allotment of an unbuilt FM station, said an order in Thursday’s Daily Digest. This was the second challenge by Premier Broadcasters of the agency’s 2017 ruling that Threshold Communications could relocate its allotment from Clatskanie, Oregon, to Napavine, Washington. Premier had argued that Clatskanie had a greater need for a radio service and that Napavine wasn’t the optimal choice under the FCC’s urbanized area service presumption, but the commissioners ruled that Premier didn’t present sufficient evidence for that argument. “To afford Premier additional bites at the evidentiary apple would further delay the provision of new radio service at Napavine, contrary to the express Congressional intent.”

The FCC should ensure that regulatory fees “more meaningfully reflect the benefits provided to fee payors,” said NAB in calls Tuesday with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Brendan Carr, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 22-223 Wednesday. The agency should exempt broadcasters from paying for work on aspects of the USF, the filing said. The FCC “has acknowledged that broadcasters do not benefit from the Commission’s Universal Service Fund (USF) activities,” NAB said.

Low-power FM broadcaster Marion Education Exchange has been unable to secure an attorney and is pleading with FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin not to take away its license, according to a letter posted Wednesday in docket 22-76. “I don't think that is the purpose of the FCC” wrote Shawn Craft, a WWGH Marion, Ohio, manager. “I don't think you want to hurt us, or hurt the community. I think the FCC wants to help communities.” The MEE hearing proceeding stems from allegations that the broadcaster has repeatedly failed to respond to FCC inquiries and gave the agency false information about the make-up of its board. MEE came into possession of the station as part of a settlement over violations of Ohio charity laws by its previous owner, Marion Midget Football. Halprin has admonished MEE for not responding to several court requests, which MEE has said it didn’t receive. Prospective attorneys have told MEE the case would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, the letter said. “I really hope you don't take the license because I know you can find out without hundreds of thousands of dollars that we are not out to hurt or lie to anyone, and never have been.” Halprin previously ruled that without an attorney, MEE’s proceeding would be dismissed and the station would lose its license (see 2206240060).

Comments are due Aug.29, replies Sept. 26, on the FCC’s NPRM on changing language in its rules referring to a now-defunct Nielsen publication, said a Federal Register notice for Thursday. Under current rules, broadcasters and MVPDs use Nielsen’s Station Index Directory to determine designated market areas, but Nielsen no longer publishes the directory, which it replaced with a monthly Local TV Station Information Report.

A low-power TV broadcaster could face a $6,500 forfeiture for failing to file a timely license to cover and engaging in an unauthorized operation, said a notice of apparent liability and order listed in Tuesday’s FCC Daily Digest. Partially due to a filing mistake by licensee Ngensolutions, KRRI-LP Reno for five years broadcast without authorization from what the FCC had listed as a digital companion channel, the Media Bureau said. “NGL explained its confusion about having mistakenly filed for a digital companion channel in 2011 thinking it was filing for a flash cut construction permit,” the NAL said. “It is well settled precedent that ignorance of a rule or law does not excuse a violation.”

DOJ and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S should block the Standard/Tegna deal over foreign ownership concerns, said the Communications Workers of America's NewsGuild sector in a letter to President Joe Biden Monday. It is the second letter NewsGuild has written to Biden about the deal (see 2206020073). “The FCC should reject this overreach and the Treasury and State Departments should reject any deal that contains a single penny of investment from foreign adversaries,” said NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss in the letter, which faults Apollo Global Management for seeking a foreign ownership declaratory ruling related to the transaction (see 2203110066). Such requests aren’t uncommon; the FCC granted one for Univision in January (see 2201210062) and one for iHeart Media (see 2112220052) in December. "Standard General, a hedge fund, claims that it is increasing broadcast ownership diversity by historic levels because its sole voting shareholder is Asian-American," said the letter. "However, ownership by large hedge funds with majority financing from anonymous foreign and U.S. institutional investors is not the same as ownership by a historically underrepresented person of color acquiring a broadcast license." The letter also said Standard hasn’t been transparent about the deal’s financing and called the deal “the culmination of a multi-year hostile takeover effort of a local broadcast news company.” “Will your administration stand with journalists and American families or stand with anonymous foreign investors and Wall Street funds?” the letter asks. Standard declined to comment.

Data from NPR Labs shows GeoBroadcast Solutions’ ZoneCasting geotargeted radio tech “will cause so much disruption to radio reception that approximately 90% of listeners would almost immediately change the channel or turn off the radio,” said NAB in an ex parte filing posted in docket 20-401 Wednesday. GBS omitted that data in its submissions to the FCC, NAB said. “GBS’s omission in a proceeding designed in part to assess ZoneCasting’s efficacy is glaring," NAB said. "Fortunately for the FCC and the American public, NPR retained the data itself, and produced it for Commission review.” GBS’ testing of the technology has been inadequate, NAB said: “Given the importance of objective, reliable testing across a range of FCC proceedings, the FCC would be setting an alarming new precedent if it deems such insubstantial testing acceptable.” GBS sent a letter to NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt earlier this week to demonstrate industry support for the technology (see 2207200056). "We have been completely transparent with the FCC staff and Commissioners by addressing each and every concern that has been raised, through respected, highly credible and reputable industry experts in the fields of engineering and broadcasting, including the current chair of the FCC’s Technical Advisory Council," said a GBS spokesperson.

Marion Educational Exchange has seven days to demonstrate to FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin that it has an attorney, said Halprin in an order in MEE’s license hearing proceeding Wednesday (see 2206240060). If MEE doesn’t, the proceeding will be dismissed for "failure to prosecute" and MEE will lose its low-power FM license, the order said. The ALJ rejected a provisional appearance filing from Holland Knight attorney Charles Naftalin that included a request for a two-month delay in the case while MEE evaluates its position. Since Naftalin’s motion also includes a provision where he could withdraw from the case, it doesn’t satisfy the ALJ’s requirement that MEE secure an attorney, the order said. “The proposed suspension of this proceeding may serve MEE, but it does not serve the public interest,” the order said. “MEE’s repeated failures to adhere to deadlines in this matter are sufficient justification for dismissal of this proceeding,” she said.

NAB’s opposition to geotargeted radio is “a retreat” from the trade group’s “ironclad commitment to broadcast deregulation,” said more than 50 broadcasters supporting the GeoBroadcast Solutions-backed proposal, in a letter this week to NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “This will leave legislators and regulators confused and uncertain as to broadcasters’ commitment to deregulation. Worse, it gives broadcasters’ competitors and critics an opportunity to exploit the inconsistency to the detriment of our shared agenda of deregulation.” The letter's signatories, which include Roberts Radio, Evans Broadcasting and Wennes Communications, also took issue with NAB statements that geotargeted radio doesn’t have industry support. NAB “has mentioned on several occasions that the radio industry is unified in its opposition to geotargeting,” the letter said. “That’s not true, and this letter is intended to correct that misperception.” “NAB, state broadcaster associations from across the country and an overwhelming number of large and small radio broadcasters in a diverse range of markets have serious concerns with ZoneCasting technology,” an NAB spokesperson emailed. Geotargeted radio "would have devastating consequences for the long-term viability of local radio," the spokesperson said.

The FCC Media Bureau rejected Centro Familiar de Restauracion y Vida’s application for a noncommercial educational constriction permit in Chaparral, New Mexico, and request for a waiver, said an order in Monday’s Daily Digest. Centro sought a waiver of the agency’s policy of granting only one application per group of mutually exclusive applications in CP auctions. “Centro fails to explain how the public interest would be served by granting the Waiver Request,” said the order.