SEPARATE STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS
Re:  Applications of Citadel Broadcasting Company for Consent to Renewal and for 
Assignment of Licenses; and of Shareholders of Citadel Broadcasting Corporation and of 
the Walt Disney Co. for Consent to Transfers of Control, Memorandum Opinion and 
Order and Notice of Apparent Liability.
 Today’s item permits the transfer of 24 stations in large markets from ABC Radio to 
Citadel, while also requiring divestiture of 11 “grandfathered” stations owned by Citadel in 
excess of the Commission’s limits on radio station ownership in a local market. While I am 
always troubled by the effects on our media environment of allowing a large media conglomerate 
to acquire even more stations, I believe this transaction is narrowly—quite narrowly—in the 
public interest because ABC’s and Citadel’s holdings do not overlap in any local market and, 
most important, because Citadel must divest the 11 stations that it owns in excess of our local 
ownership limits.
An important element in my approval of this item is that Citadel does not retain 
ownership of the 11 stations while it searches for a buyer, but rather must transfer ownership 
immediately to a trust with a legal duty to sell them. Additionally, we strongly encourage the 
trust to seek bids from “eligible entities,” as that term is defined by the Small Business 
Administration, including businesses often owned by women and minorities.  If the trust does not 
complete the sales within six months, today’s item also imposes substantial monthly reporting 
requirements—the Commission will review these documents carefully to make sure that the 
trustee is living up to its obligation to sell the stations in a timely fashion. I will be watching the 
trust’s efforts closely to ensure the results envisioned in this item.