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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  946 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of 
 Rules  and  Policies  Concerning  Multiple  Ownership  of  Radio  Broadcast 
 Stations  in  Local  Markets 
 Definition  of  Radio  Markets 


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 MM  Docket  No.  01-  317 
 MM  Docket  No.  00-  244 


 ORDER 
 Adopted:  April  23,  2002  Released:  April  23,  2002 
 By  the  Chief,  Media  Bureau: 
 1.  On  April  17,  2002,  pursuant  to  section  1.46  of  the  Commission’s  Rules,  1  the  Office  of  Communication  of  the  United  Church  of  Christ  (“  UCC”)  filed  a  “Motion  for  Extension 
 of  Reply  Comment  Deadline”  in  this  proceeding.  Previously,  on  January  23,  2002,  and  on  March  8,  2002,  we  granted  motions  and  extended  our  comment  and  reply  comment  deadlines.  2 
 The  current  deadline  to  file  reply  comments  is  April  24,  2002.  UCC  asks  the  Commission  to  further  extend  the  reply  comment  filing  deadline  by  14  days  to  May  8,  2002.  Among  other 
 things,  UCC  asserts  that  it  needs  additional  time  to  complete  its  analyses  of  the  large  volume  of  comments  filed  in  this  proceeding.  UCC  states  that,  in  addition  to  presenting  legal  arguments, 
 parties  have  provided  economic  analyses  and  factual  data  regarding  diversity  and  competition  in  local  radio  markets,  and  that  review  and  analysis  of  such  filings  will  demand  significant  time  and 
 resources.  3  UCC  states  that  UCC  and  its  counsel,  the  Institute  for  Public  Representation  (“  IPR”),  do  not  have  resources  sufficient  to  meet  the  current  deadline,  especially  in  light  of  IPR’s  recent 
 filing  of  extensive  comments  in  two  other  proceedings.  4  UCC  asserts  that,  because  it  is  virtually  the  only  party  to  this  proceeding  who  represents  the  voice  of  local  radio  listeners,  the  requested 
 extension  is  critical  to  public  participation  in  the  instant  proceeding.  5 
 2.  We  believe  that  the  public  interest  would  be  best  served  by  granting  an  extension 


 1  47  C.  F.  R.  §  1.46. 
 2  Order,  MM  Docket  Nos.  01-  317  and  00-  244,  DA  02-  156  (rel.  Jan.  23,  2002)  (extending  the  comment  deadlines  by 
 30  days  in  response  to  a  request  for  a  45-  day  extension);  Order,  MM  Docket  Nos.  01-  317  and  00-  244,  DA  02-  582  (rel.  Mar.  8,  2002)  (granting  a  request  for  a  14-  day  extension  of  the  comment  and  reply  comment  deadlines). 


 3  Motion  at  1-  2. 
 4  Motion  at  2-  3. 
 5  Motion  at  2. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  946 
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 of  the  reply  comment  filing  deadline.  The  Commission  seeks  comment  on  a  wide  range  of  issues  relating  to  multiple  ownership  of  radio  stations  in  local  markets,  including  the  statutory 
 framework  governing  local  radio  ownership,  diversity  and  competition  in  radio  markets.  We  will,  therefore,  extend  the  reply  comment  deadline  by  an  additional  14  days.  We  believe  that  14 
 days  provides  sufficient  additional  time  for  UCC  and  others  to  review  comments  filed  in  this  proceeding  and  to  prepare  comprehensive  reply  comments.  This,  in  turn,  will  help  the 
 Commission  in  its  decision-  making  and  resolving  the  complex  and  significant  public  policy  issues  raised  in  this  proceeding. 


 3.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED  that  Motion  for  Extension  of  Reply  Comment  Deadline  of  the  Office  of  Communication  of  the  United  Church  of  Christ  IS  GRANTED. 
 4.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED  that  the  deadline  for  filing  reply  comments  in  this  proceeding  IS  EXTENDED  to  May  8,  2002. 
 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 W.  Kenneth  Ferree  Chief,  Media  Bureau 
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