Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington D.C. 20554

In re Application of ) ) MORTENSON BROADCASTING ) File Nos. 0000129304-0000129307 CO. OF , INC. ) (Assignor) ) Pleading File Nos. 0000130247, ) 0000130211, 0000130179, 0000130169, and ) and 0000130305 ) iHM LICENSES, LLC ) (Assignee) ) ) For Consent to the Assignment of Licenses ) of KKGM(AM) and KHVN(AM), Fort ) Worth, Texas, and Associated FM Translator ) Stations )

To: The Secretary, Federal Communications Commission Attn: The Chief, Audio Division, Media Bureau

CONSOLIDATED OPPOSITION TO INFORMAL OBJECTIONS

iHM Licenses, LLC, a licensee subsidiary of iHeartMedia, Inc. (collectively

“iHeart”), by its attorney, hereby opposes the five above-referenced submissions (the

“Objections”) by various individuals objecting to a grant of the captioned application, by

which iHeart seeks consent to acquire the licenses of AM stations KHVN and KKGM,

Fort Worth, Texas.1 For the following reasons, the Objections fail under long-standing

Commission precedent to raise a prima facie case as to whether the proposed assignment is in the public interest. The application should be granted without delay.

1 See Letter of Brian C. Berry (Pleading File No. 0000130247, filed Dec. 30, 2020); “Petition to Deny Application” of Shenita L. (Pleading File No. 0000130211, filed Dec. 29, 2020); Letter of Xavier E. Sanders (Pleading File No. 0000130179, filed Dec. 28, 2020); Petition to Deny of Pamela Young (Pleading File No. 0000130169, filed Dec. 28, 2020); Letter of Yolanda G. Butler (Pleading File No. 0000130305, filed Jan. 1, 2021).

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Initially, while the Objections have been docketed in the LMS system as

“petitions to deny” (and, in a few cases, purport to be such), none of the submissions contains an affidavit to support the objector’s allegations, and to iHeart’s knowledge none of the Objections has been served on the parties to the application or their counsel.

Thus, the Objections fail to meet the basic procedural requirements for a petition to deny

and, at most, must be considered as informal objections.2 Nonetheless, pursuant to

Section 309(e) of the Communications Act, informal objections—like petitions to deny—

must provide properly supported allegations of fact that, if true, would establish a

substantial and material question of fact that grant of the application would be prima

facie inconsistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity.3 The objectors

have not met that standard.

All of the Objections challenge the subject transaction on essentially the same

grounds: appreciation of the programming that KHVN and KKGM have provided in the

past, and concern about the loss of or changes in such programming in connection with the stations’ sale. As the Commission has recognized, however, its “role in overseeing programming content is very limited.”4 That limitation is expressly set forth in Section

2 47 U.S.C. §309(d)(1) (“Such allegations of fact shall, except for those of which official notice may be taken, be supported by affidavit of a person or persons with personal knowledge thereof.”); id. (“The petitioner shall serve a copy of such petition on the applicant.); 47 C.F.R. §1.47 (requiring service of petition); see Geraldine R. Miller, Letter, 24 FCC Rcd. 11814, 11814-15 (Med. Bur. 2009) (petition to deny lacking supporting affidavit and proper service on applicant dismissed as petition to deny and treated as informal objection); Stephan Myers, Letter, 23 FCC Rcd. 16606, 16607-08 (Med. Bur. 2008) (pleading unserved on applicant and lacking supporting declaration treated as informal objection).

3 47 U.S.C. §309(e); see, e.g., WWOR-TV, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 6 FCC Rcd. 193,197 n. 10 (1990), aff'd sub nom. Garden State Broadcasting L.P. v. FCC, 996 F.2d 386 (D.C. Cir. 1993), rehearing denied (Sept. 10, 1993); Area Christian Television, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 60 R.R.2d 862, 864 (1986) (informal objections, like petitions to deny, must contain adequate and specific factual allegations sufficient to warrant the relief requested).

4 Fox Television Stations, 20 FCC Rcd. 4800, 4801 (2005).

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326 of the Communications Act, which provides: “Nothing in this chapter shall be understood or construed to give the Commission the power of censorship over the radio communications or signals transmitted by any radio station, and no regulation or

condition shall be promulgated or fixed by the Commission which shall interfere with the

right of free speech by means of radio communication.”5 Thus, the Commission has held repeatedly that it does not consider programming and format changes in reviewing applications for the assignment and transfer of broadcast licenses. As the agency has stated:

While we recognize that the Stations' prior format has developed a devoted listenership, it is well-settled that the Commission does not regulate programming formats, nor does it take potential format changes into consideration in reviewing license assignment or transfer applications. In 1976, the Commission issued a Policy Statement in which it concluded that review of program formats was not required by the Act, would not benefit the public, would deter innovation, and would impose substantial administrative burdens on the Commission. The Supreme Court of the United States has upheld this policy and the Commission's determination that "the public interest is best served by promoting diversity in entertainment formats through market forces and competition among broadcasters . . . and that a change in programming is not a material factor that should be considered by the Commission in ruling on an application for license agreement or transfer."6

The Objections, therefore, fail to establish a substantial or material

question warranting a hearing or denial of the proposed assignment.

Notwithstanding this, however, iHeart stresses that it intends to operate the

5 47 U.S.C. §326.

6 Peter Davidson, Letter, 22 FCC Rcd. 18605, 10606-07 (Med. Bur. 2007) (citing FCC v. WNCN Listener’s Guild, 450 U.S. 582, 585 (1981) and Changes in the Entertainment Formats of Broadcast Stations, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 60 F.C.C.2d 858, 865-66 (1976), recon. denied, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 66 F.C.C.2d 78 (1977), rev'd sub nom. WNCN Listeners Guild v. FCC, 610 F.2d 838 (D.C. Cir. 1979), rev'd, 450 U.S. 582 (1981). See also Dr. Israeli Jaffe, et al., Letter, 24 FCC Rcd. 11761, 11762 (Med. Bur. 2009); Cincinnati Public Radio, Letter, 22 FCC Rcd. 6807, 6807-08 (Med. Bur. 2007).

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stations in the public interest as required by the Communications Act and FCC

rules and policies. Indeed, iHeart plans to operate KKGM and KHVN as

affiliates of iHeart’s recently-launched Black Information Network (“BIN”), the

country’s first and only 24/7 national and local all-news audio service dedicated to providing an objective, accurate and trusted source of continual news coverage with a Black voice and perspective.7 iHeart launched the BIN format on KKGM

and KHVN on January 2, 2021 pursuant to a pre-closing local marketing

agreement, and the stations are now airing -Fort Worth specific newscasts

twice per hour, 24/7, in addition to an all-news format and a weekly hour of

dedicated public affairs programming, and will be airing public service

announcements for local organizations. iHeart is confident that under the BIN

format, the stations will deliver significant news, information and programming

relevant to the Black community in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.8

7 See https://www.iheart.com/content/2020-06-30-iheartmedia-launches-black-information-network-247- all-news-audio-service/.

8 See attached Declaration of Tony Coles, President of BIN and Division President of iHeart’s Markets Group.

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For the foregoing reasons, the Commission should dismiss or deny the

Objections and promptly grant the subject assignment applications.

Respectfully submitted,

iHM LICENSES, LLC

By: Gregory L. Masters Gregory L. Masters Its Attorney WILEY REIN LLP 1776 K Street NW Washington DC 20006 (202) 719-7370

Dated: January 13, 2021

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Declaration of Tony Coles

I, Tony Coles, hereby declare under penalty of perjury as follows:

1. I am Division President, Markets Group, of iHeartMedia, Inc. (“iHeart”). I am also President of iHeart’s recently launched Black Information Network (“BIN”), the country’s first and only 24/7 national and local all-news audio service dedicated to providing an objective, accurate and trusted source of continual news coverage with a Black voice and perspective. This Declaration is given in support of iHeart’s response to various objections that have been filed with the FCC against iHeart’s currently pending application to acquire radio stations KHVN and KKGM in Fort Worth, Texas.

2. iHeart intends to operate KHVN and KKGM as affiliates of BIM, and iHeart launched the BIN format on the stations on January 2, 2021 under a pre-closing local marketing agreement. The stations are now airing Dallas-Fort Worth specific newscasts twice per hour, 24/7, in addition to an all-news format and a weekly hour of dedicated public affairs programming. We will soon be airing public service announcements for local organizations. I am confident that under the BIN format, the stations will deliver significant news, information and programming relevant to the Black community in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

Dated: 1/12/21 Tony Coles

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Certificate of Service

I, Gregory L. Masters, hereby certify that true copies of the foregoing

“Consolidated Opposition to Informal Objections” were sent this 13th day of January

2021, by first class United States mail, postage prepaid, to the following:

Brian Berry 5501 Creek Hill Lane Fort Worth, TX 76179

Shenita L. Cleveland 365 Uptown Boulevard Cedar Hill, TX 75104

Xavier E. Sanders 5513 Burton Avenue Fort Worth, TX 76119

Pamela Young 2900 Race Street #323 Fort Worth, TX 76111

Yolanda G. Butler 1316 Kings Court Crowley, TX 76036

John S. Neely, Esq. Miller and Neely, PC 4 Simms Court Kensington, MD 20895 Counsel to Mortenson Broadcasting Co. of Texas, Inc.

Gregory L. Masters Gregory L. Masters

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