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The Life and Career of Kathryn Schmeltzer, partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman's communications group

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published September 12, 2005

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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 1973, 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 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 1/2 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.
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published September 12, 2005

( 18 votes, average: 4.8 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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