Variety radio directory (1937)

FEDERAL RADIO REGULATION— Continued regulations before them, applicants and licensees know, or can easily learn, their exact rights and duties, and may act accordingly. Where, however, in a hearing on an applicaton for a new station or for renewal of license of an existng station, they must demonstrate by evidence that granting the application will serve "public interest, convenience or necessity," and where, outside of the technical aspects of the case, they have virtually nothing definite to guide them, the situation is very different. They are faced with the hazard of what may prove to be an insufficient or defective showing, of which they are first apprised when the Commission makes its decision. They must continuously choose between either running that hazard or incurring great expense to cover all conceivable matters by evidence, including matters in which the Commission may take no interest or which it may take for granted. It is unfortunate that the Commission has not gone further to do in other fields what it has done in the technical field, namely, to translate "public interest, convenience or necessity" into definite regulations or, where that is not possible, into definite principles, policies, and rules announced in decisions or other formal pronouncements or to formulate or give recognition to factors by which the standard may be tested and applied. The result of the situation which has existed has been the building up of a complicated, formless and unnecessarily expensive set of nebulous formulas as to the showing which should be made by evidence at a hearing on an application. These formulas have ;grown up haphazard, sometimes with no real reason other than that a particular practice was followed in a previous case and, starting as accidents, have become traditions. The Commission has not been consistent in the effect it has given to this or that kind of showing, or to this or that method of making proof. A superficial attempt will be made in what follows to indicate some of these formulas. At the same time, in order to avoid unnecessary repetition, reference will also be made to certain positive requirements or prohibitions in the Communications Act which have to do with related subjects. Whatever be the true meaning of "public interest, convenience or necessity," it must, of course, be construed consistently with the provisions of the Act. Opinions will differ as to the proper way in which to subdivide discussion of "public interest, convenience, or necessity," and related provisions in the Act. The following subdivision will, however, suit our present purposes. ELIGIBILITY FOR LICENSE The Act forbids the granting of a license to (1) any alien or representative of an alien, (2) any foreign government or representative thereof, (3) any corporation organized under the laws of any foreign government, (4) any corporation of which any officer or director is an alien or of which more than one-fifth of the capital stock is owned of record or voted by aliens or their representatives or by a foreign government or representative thereof, or by any corporation organized under the laws of a foreign country, or (5) any corporation directly or indirectly controlled by any other corporation of which any officer or more than one-fourth of the directors are aliens or of which more than one-fourth of the capital stock is owned of record or voted by aliens, etc. "if the Commission finds that the public interest will be served by the refusal or the revocation of such license." The Commission is also directed to refuse a license or permit to any person (or to any person directly or indirectly controlled by such person) whose license 284