Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
June 28, 2016
In Reply Refer to: 1 800B3 - DJL

Tom W. Davidson, Esq.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
1333 New Hampshire Aye, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Re:

Request for Confidential Treatment of Information
Application of Affiliated Media, Inc. FCC Trust
for Consent to the Assignment of Broadcast
Station License
File No. BALH-20160331ADQ

Dear Mr. Davidson:
This letter responds to the request for confidential treatment of information (Request) contained
in the referenced application (Application) for consent to assignment of the licenses for commercial radio
stations KLXK, Breckenridge, TX, Facility ID No. 7702; KROO, Breckenridge, TX, Facility ID No.
7703; KWKQ, Graham, TX, Facility ID No. 35643; and KSWA, Graham, TX, Facility ID 35644
(Stations) from Affiliated Media, Inc. FCC Trust (Affiliated Media) to Palo Pinto Communications, LP
(Palo Pinto). Affiliated Media seeks non-disclosure of information contained in redacted portions of the
Application, claiming that the information constitutes confidential financial information that may be
withheld from public inspection pursuant to Section 0.459 of the Commission's Rules (Rules).' For the
following reasons, we grant the request.
Affiliated Media states that the redacted information concerns "the acquisition by Palo Pinto of
assets used in the operation of [weekly] newspapers owned by Graham Newspaper, Inc. (Graham) from
Graham and its parent entity MediaNews Group, Inc. (MNG), who are neither the licensee of the Stations
nor a party to the Application."2 It contends that the redacted information is "highly sensitive commercial
information. . . [which is] generally safeguarded from competitors and is not made available to the
public," and disclosing it could cause substantial competitive harm by providing "competitors insight into
confidential information. . . that would not otherwise be available."3 Moreover, information regarding
Palo Pinto's acquisition of Graham's newspaper business, Affiliated Media claims, is not germane to the
Commission's review of the Application.4
Section 0.459(b) of the Rules requires a party requesting confidential treatment to submit a
"statement of the reasons for withholding the materials from inspection. . . and of the facts upon which
those records are based."5 If a request complies with the procedural requirements of Section 0.459(a)6 of
the Rules and the requirements of Section 0.459(b) of the Rules, we will grant it as long as it
'47 CFR § 0.459 ("Requests that materials or information submitted to the Commission be withheld from public
inspection.").
2 Request at 1.
Request at 2-3.
41d. at 1-2, citing SeeLU.J, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 16980, 16983, para. 7(2002)
(LUJ).

47 CFR § 0.459(b).
6 4 CFR § 0.459(a).

demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that non-disclosure is consistent with the provisions of
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),7 at which point the ruling will be placed in the public file in lieu
of the confidential material.8
Affiliated Media complies with the procedural requirements of Section 0.459(a) of the Rules by
attaching the Request to the Application9 and submitting a redacted version of the Application
electronically.'° The Request also satisfies Section 0.459(b) by addressing each of the factors specified in
that section and explaining why non-disclosure is consistent with each factor."
We also find that the Request demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that nondisclosure is consistent with the provisions of FOIA and is not germane to the Commission's review of
the Application.'2 FOIA provides a statutory framework for relevant information that must be made
available to the public, and outlines categories of information exempted from djsclosure.'3 Affiliated
Media claims that non-disclosure of the redacted information is pennissible under the fourth exemption of
FOJA, which exempts "trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person
[which is] privileged or confidential."4 "[F]inancial or commercial information provided to the
Government on a voluntary basis is 'confidential' for the purpose of Exemption 4 if it is of a kind that
would customarily not be released to the public by the person from whom it was obtained."5
The redacted information maybe withheld from disclosure under FOJA's fourth exemption
because it is financial information submitted voluntarily, and it would not customarily be released to the
public in connection with the transaction for which Commission approval is sought here. The redacted
information concerns the acquisition of weekly newspaper assets that, unlike broadcast transactions,'6 are
not subject to Commission regulation,'7 and the Application otherwise includes all of the relevant
information necessary for the Commission's review of the proposed transaction.'8 Thus, it is not germane
to the Commission's review and did not need to be submitted for the Application to be complete.'9

5 U.S.C. § 552.
8 4 CFR § O.459(d)(2).
47 CFR § 0.459(a)(1).
'° 47 CFR § 0.459(a)(2). It submitted an unredacted version of the Application for Media Bureau review.
"Request at 2-3.
12 See LUJ, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 16980, 16983, para. 7 (2002) (LUJ)
13 See 5 U.S.C. § 552. See also In the Matter of John Doe, Request for Inspection of Records, 29 FCC Rcd 5662,
5663, para. 3 (2014) (staff search was "reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documeiits," and thus satisfied
Commission obligations under FO.lA") citing, inter alia, Weisberg v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, 705 F.2d 1344, 1351
(D.C. Cir. 1983).
' 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4).
15 Critical Mass Energy Project v. Nuclear Regulatory Comm 'n, 975 F.2d 871, 879 (D.C. Cir. 1992) (Critical Mass).
16 See 47 U.S.C. § 3 10(d) (requiring application to and approval of the Commission prior to any disposition of a
broadcast license).
The Commission does not consider newspaper ownership when reviewing applications for consent to license
assignments unless the newspapers are "daily." See 47 CFR § 73.3555(d) and Application No. BALH20160331 ADQ, as amended, Exhibit 1 (neither assignee nor any of its attributable parties has an attributable interest
in a daily newspaper).
"LUJ, 17 FCC Rcd at 16982, para. 5. See also Mr. Luis A. Mejia andMSG Radio, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and
Order and Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 23 FCC Rcd 11902, 11906-7, paras. 16-17 (underLUJ,
2

Accordingly, for the reasons stated above, the request for confidential treatment of information in
the referenced Application IS GRANTED pursuant to Section 0.459 of the Rules, and this decision will
be placed in the public file in lieu of the confidential material.

Sincerely,

Peter H. Doyle
Chief, Audio Division
Media Bureau

parties to an assignment application must submit all agreements "that are essential to fully understanding the
proposed assignment.")
19 SeeLUJ, 17 FCC Rcd at 1683.
3