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Administrative Law Keyed to Schwartz
FCC v. Allentown Broadcasting Corporation
Citation:
349 U.S. 358 (1955)Facts
This case involved two competing applications for radio broadcast licenses on the same frequency—one from Easton Publishing Company for Easton, Pennsylvania, and one from Allentown Broadcasting Corporation for Allentown, Pennsylvania. Simultaneous operation would cause mutually destructive interference, though neither station would serve the other community. After initial hearings in 1946 and a remand from the Court of Appeals, new hearings were held in 1951. The FCC hearing examiner recommended granting the license to Allentown. However, the Commission reversed this recommendation, finding that while both applicants were qualified and both communities needed the proposed services, Easton’s need for a second local station (Allentown already had three) was decisive under §307(b) of the Communications Act. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the Commission had erroneously overruled its examiner’s findings and that there was no substantial evidence to support the determination that the applicants’ abilities to serve were approximately equal.
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