The full FCC should review the sharing agreements...

The full FCC should review the sharing agreements involved in the Tribune/Local transaction, said Free Press in reply comments on its application for review of the deal (http://bit.ly/1kD0JmP). In approving the transaction, the Media Bureau failed to consider the deal’s cumulative effects on the public interest, Free Press said, citing a recent Department of Justice filing on sharing agreements as additional evidence. The Justice filing “focuses, case-by-case, on the function of SSAs over their form -- asking whether their collective effect harms the public interest rather than whether specific contract provisions independently satisfy the attribution standards,” Free Press said. “Failing to account for such effects would otherwise create opportunities to circumvent the Commission’s rules and their underlying goals."