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Media ownership is one of the hottest issues

in the United States today, and attorney

Kathryn Schmeltzer is one of the top lawyers

arguing on behalf of broadcast companies

in court and before the FCC. As a partner

with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman’s

communications group, Schmeltzer helps

broadcast companies challenge FCC rules,

acquire and maintain licenses, and litigate

cases.

An expert in FCC rules, Schmeltzer has

been engrossed in challenging the multiple

ownership rule, which the FCC relaxed

in 2003 as a result of a challenge from

her client, Sinclair Broadcast Group. The

Supreme Court denied certiorari on the case,

and it is now back before the FCC and has

been delayed.

“The problem with the FCC now is they are

short two commissioners, and they’re waiting

for nominations to be made,” Schmeltzer

said. “So that has slowed the processes

there a bit.”

Schmeltzer, who spent more than four

years working for the FCC, said the multiple

ownership rules are unfair to Sinclair, which

is one of the nation’s largest broadcast

companies.

“One of the rules that the Commission has is

a television duopoly rule limiting the number

of television stations that you can own in a

particular market. They liberalized it a little

bit in an order that they put out in 2003,

but Sinclair felt that they had not gone far

enough and that there were still problems

with the rule,” she said. “The chief television

companies want to be treated equally with

other companies. Cable companies can own

television stations. Other multimedia entities

can own television stations. And you can have

a cable company owning a network, owning a

television station in a particular community.

But if you’re just a television broadcaster,

you can’t have two television stations. So

they really feel that they’re not being treated

equitably.”

In one high-profile case, Schmeltzer

successfully represented the Lutheran

Church-Missouri Synod during an FCC

hearing and subsequent appeal involving the

church’s challenge to the implementation of

the FCC’s affirmative action requirements.

In another case, she successfully defended

the former owner of two Arizona television

stations fighting to get back his license from

the new owner. Victories in such challenges

are rare.

Schmeltzer said the key to her success

has been flexibility, and she urges new

attorneys to be open minded about jobs

when they start their careers and even

during law school. Before deciding to go to

law school, Schmeltzer planned on joining

the Central Intelligence Agency. A Russian

literature and language student, she figured

her skills would fit well with the CIA. Then

someone told her most of the higher-ups

in government had law degrees and that

she should apply to law school. By the time

she earned her J.D. from the University of

Virginia School of Law in �973, Schmeltzer

was hooked on the law and spent a year

clerking for a D.C. Superior Court trial-level

judge before joining the FCC.

“Frankly, at that point in time, not that

many firms were hiring women, but

the government was,” she said. “So I

looked at the FCC and I also considered

the Department of Housing and Urban

Development because real estate was

another area that I was interested in. And I

got the job at the FCC.”

Schmeltzer says she has witnessed many

changes at the FCC over the years and

believes the agency is more political now

than it used to be. With increased indecency

fines in the wake of the so-called Janet

Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” scandal

at the Super Bowl, many of her broadcast

clients are nervous and unsure of how to

avoid upsetting the FCC.

“There have been a lot of indecency fines,

although they’re all still in litigation. They

haven’t gone up to the Court of Appeals yet.

Undoubtedly they will at some point in time.

Because there’s a real issue about whether

the FCC’s indecency regulations are arbitrary

and capricious,” she said. “We’ll see what

happens with those. There was a period

about a year ago when it seemed as though

complaints of indecency were coming out of

the woodwork.”

The inner workings of the FCC have changed

considerably since Schmeltzer worked at the

agency.

“There have been a lot of changes. When

I worked at the FCC, I started out at the

Review Board, which was an intermediate

appellate body. And that doesn’t exist

anymore,” she said. “Then I went from there

continued on back

Kathryn Schmeltzer, partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman’s communications group [by Regan Morris]

As a partner with Shaw Pittman’s communications group, Kathryn Schmeltzer represents a variety of

media companies, from television giant Sinclair Broadcast Group to high school radio stations in Indiana.

LawCrossing speaks with Schmeltzer about her career and how she navigates the ever-changing and

complex world of the Federal Communications Commission.

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to the Hearing Branch and actually tried

cases on behalf of the FCC, so I was involved

if there were cases brought by the FCC

against license renewal applicants.”

The FCC also participated when there were

new applicants vying for licenses and the

agency would hold comparative hearings to

determine who would get the license, she said.

“At the time there were a lot of

administrative law judges. Right now

they’re down to two administrative judges.

They don’t have hearings for new facilities

anymore; instead they auction off facilities,”

she said. “Every now and then there may be

a license renewal hearing, but they’re few

and far between. Now the procedure is once

an administrative judge issues an initial

decision, it goes right to the full commission.

So there’s not this intermediate board. It’s

more efficient, but it may be a little more

politically driven. I have seen over the years

I’ve seen the FCC more politicized, which is

unfortunate actually.”

Despite the many changes, Schmeltzer’s

experience inside the FCC has helped her

navigate the agency in private practice and

she urges attorneys to cut their teeth inside

the government before going into private

practice. After 4 �/2 years with the FCC,

Schmeltzer joined Washington, DC, boutique

communications firm, Fisher Wayland

Cooper Leader and Zaragoza, as the first

woman in the firm. Fisher Wayland grew to

about 35-40 attorneys before merging with

Shaw Pittman in 2000.

“In the old days there were more outside

attorneys who had worked for the FCC for

at least some time. Nowadays there are

fewer. I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it

may be because law firms pay more,” she

said. “It’s just good knowing how the agency

works and knowing the people there. I think

it helps a lot.”

Schmeltzer, who has served as president

of the D.C. Chapter of American Women

in Radio and Television, said she likes the

variety of clients in her practice and has

represented small college and high school

radio stations over the years, often pro bono.