FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
  June 2, 2000
  
  
      Press Statement of Commissioner Gloria Tristani
                              
  Re:  Application for Radio License Transfers in Bloomington, Illinois from Bloomington
  Broadcast Holdings, Inc. to Citadel Communications Corp.
       
       The Mass Media Bureau has granted a license transfer of WBNQ(FM), WBWN(FM) and
  WJBC(AM) that will permit one entity to control a staggering 90.5% of the market revenue in
  Bloomington, Illinois.  I have serious doubts that this level of concentration of the public
  airwaves is in the public interest.
  
       The Bureau's rationale for its action relies on the fact that this case involves the
  transfer of an existing station combination from one entity (Bloomington Broadcast
  Holdings, Inc.) to another (Citadel Communications Corp.).  In the Bureau's view,
  because such a transfer does not change the competitive landscape in Bloomington, there
  is no basis on which the Commission could deny the license transfer.
  
       The Bureau asks the wrong question.  Under the Section 310(d) of the
  Communications Act, the issue is not whether a license transfer would change the
  competitive landscape, but whether a license transfer is in the public interest.  While a
  public interest inquiry includes a competitive analysis, it also includes other vital
  considerations like the diversity of voices available to the listening public.  Here, the
  Bureau has approved a license transfer that will give one entity control over three of five
  commercial stations in the Bloomington Arbitron market (representing, as noted above,
  over 90% of the revenues).  While other stations' signals may reach Bloomington, there
  are no other stations obligated to serve the specific needs of Bloomington residents.  We
  license radio stations to specific communities, not to states or regions, because we believe
  that local stations will best meet local needs.  Those needs are not well-served where the
  public airwaves are controlled by a single speaker.
  
       Instead of simply granting the license transfer, I would have considered other
  options -- e.g., requiring the applicant to demonstrate that it attempted to find other
  buyers for some of the stations -- that would have protected the licensee's interests while
  enhancing the possibility of bringing diversity back to Bloomington.       
  
  
                          - FCC -