Ethel C. Hale and W. Paul Wharton v. Federal Communications Commission, Ksl, Incorporated, Intervenor

Today I cast my vote with the majority solely because the Federal Communications Commission is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of its doctrines governing concentration of control in the mass media; cf. Pikes Peak Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 137 U.S. App.D.C. 234, 243-244, 422 F.2d 671, 680-681, cert. denied, 395 U.S. 979, 89 S.Ct. 2134, 23 L.Ed.2d 767 (1969). Absent this single, crucial fact, I would find serious obstacles to affirming the Commission’s action in this case.

The general question of what impact the antitrust laws should have upon an administrative agency’s licensing and…