FCC chief's action seen advancing Tribune deal

FCC'S CHIEF'S ACTION SEEN ADVANCING TRIBUNE DEAL
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, AUTHOR: Michael Oneal mdoneal@tribune.com and Phil Rosenthal philrosenthal@tribune.com]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin took a step toward giving Chicago real estate magnate Sam Zell the temporary regulatory relief he needs to close his $8.2 billion deal to take Tribune Co. private. According to a source at the FCC, Martin circulated a proposal among the four other FCC commissioners addressing Zell and Tribune's request for temporary waivers to media cross ownership rules and new television station licenses. That's the first step in the approval process. Now the commissioners must indicate their approval or disapproval of the proposal. Two of them have said that they can make their decision within three days of receiving it from the chairman. If the approvals come by Friday, Tribune will have enough time to close by year's end. But any further delay would force the company to renegotiate the 20-day cushion with its creditors. The language of the proposal is crucial. Although the waivers will certainly be temporary, Tribune will have to show its creditors that it has enough of a regulatory window to meet with their approval. Martin has said that by Dec. 18 he wants the commission to vote on a partial but permanent repeal of the rules that prohibit a company from owning a newspaper and broadcast outlet in the same market. It is unclear, however, if he has the political support for such a maneuver, which means Tribune would need longer waivers to assure compliance in several of its key markets.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-071128trib,0,6545303.story?tr...

* Martin Proposes Two-Year Tribune Waivers
Chairman Kevin Martin proposed granting Tribune temporary -- at least two-year (or six months after the end of any litigation over the current or new rules, whichever is longer) -- waivers for its newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership in a handful of markets and voting on the item by Friday Nov 30. Martin told reporters that the timing of the vote was to square it with the 20 business days Tribune said it needs so that its deal could still go through.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6506052.html?rssid=193

* FCC Chief Says He Would Grant Waivers and OK Tribune Buyout (Associated Press)
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...

* FCC chief proposes 2-year exemption for Tribune
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tribune29nov29,0,4942870.story?col...

* Martin Proposes Waiver in Tribune Deal
http://www.tvweek.com/news/2007/11/martin_proposes_waiver_in_trib.php

* FCC Plan Would Facilitate Zell's Buyout of Tribune Co.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119628282913706904.html?mod=todays_us_ma...

* FCC chief favors waivers for Tribune
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20071129/b_baig29.art.htm

* FCC expected to lift barrier to Tribune deal
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-tribune29nov29,1,2671...