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The FCC Media Bureau will “closely scrutinize” pending...

The FCC Media Bureau will “closely scrutinize” pending and current transactions that involve sharing arrangements and deals to give one station right of first refusal purchase rights over another, the bureau said in a public notice Wednesday evening (http://fcc.us/1gaJJwk). “This…

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is not a change in our underlying rules or the policies on which they are based,” said bureau Chief Bill Lake in a news release (http://fcc.us/1glEAGt). Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O'Rielly objected to the notice being issued on delegated authority. “This abuse of delegated authority is all the more unfortunate because it is entirely unnecessary,” said Pai in a statement (http://fcc.us/1iC9sWv). “Our policy has been changed without a commission vote. That’s not the way we should do business.” O'Rielly said (http://fcc.us/1lXAOGX) that “this guidance presupposes the media ownership item [is] to be voted later this month and may deter future transactions that could increase local news and other beneficial diverse programming for communities."