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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  March  19,  2002  Maureen  Peratino  at  (202)  418-  0506 
 David  Fiske  at  (202)  418-  0513 


 FCC  DESIGNATES  APPLICATION  TO  ASSIGN  WUMX(  FM),  CHARLOTTESVILLE,  VA,  FOR  HEARING 


 Washington,  DC  --  Today,  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  designated  the  application  to  assign  radio  station  WUMX(  FM),  Charlottesville,  Virginia  from  Air  Virginia, 
 Inc.  to  Clear  Channel  Radio  Licenses,  Inc.  for  hearing.  The  FCC  found  that  the  proposed  transaction  raised  competitive  concerns  by  reducing  the  number  of  effective  competitors  in  the 
 Charlottesville  radio  market  from  three  to  two.  The  FCC  was  unable  to  find  sufficient  public  interest  benefits  on  the  record  to  outweigh  the  potential  for  competitive  harm.  Accordingly,  the 
 FCC  was  unable  to  find  that  the  application  served  the  public  interest  and,  as  required  by  Section  309(  e)  of  the  Communications  Act,  issued  a  Hearing  Designation  Order. 


 This  is  the  first  media  assignment  case  to  be  set  for  hearing  on  concentration  issues  since  1969.  The  FCC  evaluated  the  application  pursuant  to  the  interim  policy  adopted  on  November  8, 
 2001  in  the  Local  Radio  Ownership  NPRM,  FCC  01-  329,  which  established  a  framework  for  resolving  a  backlog  of  radio  assignment  and  transfer  applications.  The  interim  policy  also  sets 
 forth  certain  factors  that  the  FCC  will  consider  in  determining  whether  the  ownership  concentration  level  proposed  by  an  application  raises  public  interest  concerns. 


 In  the  hearing,  parties  will  have  an  opportunity  to  provide  more  detailed  evidence  of  market  conditions  in  Charlottesville,  as  well  as  any  evidence  concerning  the  competitive  and 
 other  public  interest  benefits  and  harms  of  the  proposed  transaction.  Alternatively,  the  applicants  have  the  right  to  defer  the  hearing  and  have  the  application  evaluated  pursuant  to  the  final  rules 
 to  be  adopted  in  the  pending  Local  Radio  Ownership  proceeding. 
 Action  by  the  Commission  February  14,  2002,  by  Hearing  Designation  Order  (FCC  02-  53).  Chairman  Powell  and  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps  and  Martin  issuing  separate 
 statements. 


 MM  Docket  No.  02-  38 
 -  FCC  - 
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