Safeguards sought by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for its basic international news transmission system were incorporated by the Federal Communications Commission in its order permitting the merger of Press Wireless, Inc., into ITT World Communications, Inc., a study of the Commission’s Memorandum Opinion and Order established today.
JTA had intervened with the FCC in the merger proceedings because of its extensive use of Press Wireless facilities. JTA had asked the FCC to make it a condition of its approval of the merger that ITT World Communications be obliged to maintain the special press services now uniquely provided by Press Wireless. These services have not been available from any other carrier.
The FCC order made approval of the merger subject to ITT agreement not to discontinue any of the press services now offered by Press Wireless without first giving users of the service the opportunity to protest. In the event of a protest, discontinuance of service could not take place unless and until authorized by the Commission.
The JTA intervention with the FCC was supported by the American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA). In its memorandum, the FCC noted that “the ANPA echoed the sentiments of the JTA in urging that, if as the application indicates, PREWI will become a division of ITT, we condition our grant to provide for the retention of the existing specialized press services now offered by PREWI.”
Elsewhere in the statement, the FCC expressed “complete agreement” with the position taken by JTA and the ANPA “on behalf of themselves and other news gathering agencies, both large and small.” The FCC, in accepting the JTA position held that “it would not be in the public interest to permit ITT to acquire PREWI as a going concern and then permit it to make a unilateral decision to cease offering services to the press agencies, particularly the smaller agencies, which they require in order to continue to provide a useful and economical service to their customers.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
