Evening star., 1940-05-26
Courts May Decide
hewspaper-Radio
Ownership Case
F. c. G. Seeks to Prevent
Control Of Stotion
By Ohio Publishers
By WILLIAM J. WHEATLEY.

BY WILLIAM j. WHEATLEY.
The authority of the Federal Com
munications Commission to decide
whether a newspaper and radio
station in the same community may
be under one ownership may be
tested in the courts.
In the case of the Brush Moore
Newspapers, controlled by Repub-
lican group in Ohio, the commission
will listen to oral arguments on June
6. which are to be limited strictly
to the matter of newspaper owner
ship. The Brush Moore Newspapers
now own so per cent of the stock
IN Station WPAY at Portsmouth,
Ohio, and Chester A. Thompson,
owner of the other so per cent, has
asked the F. c. c. for permission to
transfer his stock to the Brush
Moore syndicate. stating that he was
unable to give the time necessary
to the station and was not prepared
to invest the amount of money nee
essary for improvements.
When the request came before the
commission several weeks ago. it
was denied. Commissioner Thad H.
Brown, Republican member from
Ohio. was not present. Subsequent
ly the applicant filed petition
asking that the original action be
vacated and the request be granted.
As an alternative, the commission
was asked to grant full hearing,
the original action having been
taken without hearing. Further,
the petitioner asked that, in the
event neither of these two requests
were granted, that the commission
enter findings of fact and conclusions
OF law in support of its decision, in
order that the issues might fully ap-
pear in the record. The petition
contended that both the Constitu-
<tion of the United States and the
Communications Act Of 1884 require
that the relief sought be granted.
Petition Voted Down.
While the commission denied all
three of the prayers of the petition,
1t authorized oral argument limited
to the question of newspaper own
ership. Commissioner T. A. M.
Craven, seconded by Commissioner
Brown, sought to have the petition
granted, but this was voted down,
to 2. with Chairman J. L. Fly,
Commissioners Paul A. Walker and
Frederick I. Thompson. Demo-
Gratis, and George Henry Payne.
Republican, voting with the ma.
jority.
In another case, that of new
station at Martinsville, Va, the
commission granted new station
to a co-partnership, one of whom
owned all of the common stock in
the only newspaper in the service
area of the proposed station. Chair
man Fly dissented to this decision.
View of Local Court.
While the matter has not been
presented directly to the United
states Court of Appeals here or to
the Supreme Court Of the United
States, the local tribunal, in the case
Of the Tri-State Broadcasitng Co.,
Inc, lcensee OF Station KTSM, VS..
the F. c. c., and Dorrance D. Rod
erick, said: I'VE know Of no pro-
vision of statute or rule Of law, and
are cited to none, which forbids
broadcasting by the owner Of a
newspaper" But in the viewpoint
of the commission this is not con-
trolling law because the issue was not
directly before the court in the
case.
But, it Is now thought likely that
If the commission insists on its
original action in the Brush-Moore
case. the courts will get the direct
question of newspaper ownership
and decide whether the public in
terest' control of the commission
extends far enough to permit the
regulatory body to make a denial in
such cases.
1t was pointed out that the Su-
preme Court only recently has de-
cided that the commissions func-
tions are confined by the statute to
control of the grant of frequencies
to broadcast stations and do not
extend to policies of the broadcast
ers or ownership, so long, In the lat
ter case, as the applicants are quail
fed financially to provide the facil-
tiles for broadcasting.