FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
September 14. 20 II
JULIUS GENACHQWSKI
CHAIRMAN
The Honorable Loretta Sanchez
U.S. House of Representatives
1114 Longworth House Officc Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congresswoman Sanchez:
Thank you for your letter regarding the status ofan Application for Revicw that was filed
with the Commission by Entravision Holdings, LLC, licensee of WJAL(TV), Hagerstown,
Maryland, concerning its request to change thc community of license for WJAL.
In 2004, the Commission's Media Bureau affirmed a prior decision to dismiss the
Entravision petition for rulemaking seeking to change the community of license of WJAL's
digital television (DTV) channel 16 from Hagerstown to Silver Spring, Maryland. The Media
Bureau bascd its dismissal primarily on the grounds that the proposed relocation would cause
substantial interference to public safety and emergcncy operations on channel 17 in the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The Bureau also determined that the proposal would result
in a significant curtailment ofexis.ting television service to the Hagerstown area. Entravision
filed an Application for Review requesting that the Bureau's decision be reviewed by the full
Commission.
In 2006, Entravision filed a supplement to its Application for Review, which indicated
that the company had changed its DTV clcction for WJAL to channel 39, thereby addressing the
public safety concerns. By that timc, however, the Commission had stopped considering certain
proposed license modifications. including community of license changes, in order to ensure a
stable database for conducting the DTV channel election process and the development ofa new
DTV Table of Allotments. With the completion ofthe DTV transition, the staff has resumed
consideration ofmatters, such as Entravision's Application for Review, that were held in
abeyance pending the DTV transition.
I appreciate learning ofyour interest in this important matter. If I can be of further
assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Julius Genachowski
445 12TH STREET s.w WASHINGTON, DC 20554 • 202-4 I 8-1 000