the head of the requesting Departmental unit. The officials so designated shall not delegate this authority to others;

(d) The request adheres to the requirements set forth in § 47.4; and

(e) The notice requirements set forth in section 1108(4) of the Act, or the requirements pertaining to delay of notice in section 1109 of the Act, are satisfied, except in situations (e.g., section 1113(g)) where no notice is required.

§ 47.4 Written request.

(a) The formal written request shall be in the form of a letter or memorandum to an appropriate official of the financial institution from which financial records are requested. The request shall be signed by the issuing official, and shall set forth that official's name, title, business address and business phone number. The request shall also contain the following:

(1) The identity of the customer or customers to whom the records pertain;

(2) A reasonable description of the records sought; and

(3) Such additional information as may be appropriate-e.g., the date on which the opportunity for the customer to challenge the formal written request will expire, the date on which the requesting Departmental unit expects to present a certificate of compliance with the applicable provisions of the Act, the name and title of the individual (if known) to whom disclosure is to be made.

(b) In cases where customer notice is delayed by court order, a copy of the court order shall be attached to the formal written request.

$47.5 Certification.

Prior to obtaining the requested records pursuant to a formal written request, an official of a rank designated by the head of the requesting Departmental unit shall certify in writing to the financial institution that the Departmental unit has complied with the applicable provisions of the Act.

These regulations set forth the procedure by which application may be made to the Attorney General for his approval of joint newspaper operating arrangements entered into after July 24, 1970, and for the filing with the Department of Justice of the terms of a renewal or amendment of existing joint newspaper operating arrangements, as required by the Newspaper Preservation Act, Pub. L. 91-353, 84 Stat. 466, 15 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. The Newspaper Preservation Act does not require that all joint newspaper operating arrangements obtain the prior written consent of the Attorney General. The Act and these regulations provide a method for newspapers to obtain the benefit of a limited exemption from the antitrust laws if they desire to do so. Joint newspaper operating arrangements that are put into effect without the prior written consent of the Attorney General remain fully subject to the antitrust laws.

§ 48.2 Definitions.

(a) The term Attorney General means the Attorney General of the United States or his delegate, other than the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division or other employee in the Antitrust Division.

(b) The term Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division means the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division or his delegate.

(c) The term Assistant Attorney General for Administration means the Assistant Attorney General for Administration or his delegate.

(d) The term existing arrangement means any joint newspaper operating arrangement entered into before July 24, 1970.

(e) The term joint newspaper operating arrangement means any contract, agreement, joint venture (whether or not incorporated), or other arrangement entered into between two or more newspaper owners for the publication of two or more newspaper publications, pursuant to which joint or common production facilities are established or operated and joint or unified action is taken or agreed to be taken with respect to any of the following: Printing; time, method, and field of publication; allocation of production facilities; distribution; advertising solicitation; circulation solicitation; business department; establishment of advertising rates; establishment of circulation rates and revenue distribution: Provided, That there is no merger, combination, or amalgamation of editorial or reportorial staffs, and that editorial policies be independently determined.

(f) The term newspaper means a publication produced on newsprint paper which is published in one or more issues weekly (including as one publication any daily newspaper and any Sunday newspaper published by the same owner in the same city, community, or metropolitan area), and in which a substantial portion of the content is devoted to the dissemination of news and editorial opinion.

(g) The term party means any individual, and any partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity.

(h) The term person means any individual, and any partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity.

§ 48.3 Procedure for filing all docu

ments.

All filings required by these regulations shall be accomplished by:

(a) Mailing or delivering five copies of each document (two copies in the case of documents filed by the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division) to the Assistant Attorney General for Administration, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530. He shall place one copy in a numbered public docket; one copy in a duplicate of this file for the use of officials with decisional responsibility; and (except in the case of documents filed by the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division) shall forward three copies to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division; except that documents subject to nondisclosure orders under § 48.5 shall be held under seal and disclosed only in accordance with the provisions of that section; and

(b) Mailing or delivering one copy of each document filed after a hearing has been ordered to each party to the proceedings, along with the name and address of the party filing the document or its counsel, and filing in the manner provided in paragraph (a) of this section a certificate that service has been made in accordance herewith.

§ 48.4 Application for approval of joint newspaper operating arrangement entered into after July 24, 1970.

(a) Persons desiring to obtain the approval of the Attorney General of a joint newspaper operating arrangement after July 24, 1970, shall file an application in writing setting forth a short, plain statement of the reasons why the applicants believe that approval should be granted.

(b) With the request, the applicants shall also file copies of the following:

(1) The proposed joint newspaper operating agreement;

(2) Any prior, existing or proposed agreement between any of the newspapers involved, or a statement of any such agreements as have not been reduced to writing;

(3) With respect to each newspaper, for the 5-year period prior to the date of the application,

(i) Annual statements of profit and loss;

(ii) Annual statements of assets and liabilities;

(iii) Reports of the Audit Bureau of Circulation, or statements containing equivalent information;

(iv) Annual advertising lineage records;

(v) Rate cards;

(4) If any amount stated in paragraph (b)(3)(i) or (ii) of this section represents an allocation of revenues, expenses, assets or liabilities between the newspaper and any parent, subsidiary, division or affiliate, the financial statements shall be accompanied by a full explanation of the method by which each such amount has been allocated.

(5) If any of the newspapers involved purchased or sold goods or services from or to any parent, subsidiary, division or affiliate at any time during the five years preceding the date of application, a statement shall be submitted identifying such products or services, the entity from which they were purchased or to which they were sold, and the amount paid for each product or service during each of the five years.

(6) Any other information which the applicants believe relevant to their request for approval.

(c) A copy of the application and supporting data shall be open to public inspection during normal business hours at the main office of each of the newspapers involved in the arrangement, except to the extent permitted by nondisclosure orders under §48.5; except that materials for which nondisclosure has been requested under § 48.5 need not be made available for inspection before the request has been decided.

$48.5 Requests that information not be made public.

(a) Any applicant may file a request that commercial or financial data required to be filed and made public under these regulations, which is privileged and confidential within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 552(b), be withheld from public disclosure. Each such request shall be accompanied by a statement of the reasons why nondisclosure

is required. The request shall be determined by the Attorney General who shall consider the extent to which (1) disclosure may cause substantial harm to the applicant submitting the information, and (2) nondisclosure may impair the ability of persons who may be adversely affected by the proposed arrangement to present their views in proceedings under these regulations. Information relevant to the financial conditions of the newspaper or newspapers represented to be failing ordinarily shall not be ordered withheld from public disclosure.

(b) Upon ordering that any documents be withheld from public disclosure, the Attorney General shall file a statement setting forth the subject matter of the documents withheld. Any person desiring to inspect the documents may file a request for inspection, identifying with as much particularity as possible the materials to be inspected and setting forth the reasons for inspection and the facts in support thereof. The request for disclosure shall be considered by the Attorney General, who shall give the applicant that submitted the documents an opportunity to be heard in opposition to disclosure. Orders granting inspection shall specify the terms and conditions thereof, including restrictions on disclosure to third parties.

(c) Documents ordered withheld from public disclosure shall be made available to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division. If a hearing is held, the documents may be offered as evidence by any party to whom they have been disclosed. The administrative law judge may restrict further disclosure as he deems appropriate, taking into account the considerations set forth in paragraph (a) of this section.

(d) Requests for access to materials within the scope of this section that may be filed after the conclusion of proceedings under these regulations shall be processed in accordance with the Department's regulations under 5 U.S.C. 552 (part 16 of this chapter).

$48.6 Public notice.

(a) Upon the filing of the documents required by §48.4, the applicants shall file, and publish on the front pages of

each of the newspapers for which application is made, daily and Sunday (if a Sunday edition is published) for a period of one week:

(1) Notice that a request for approval of a joint newspaper operating arrangement has been filed with the Attorney General;

(2) Notice that copies of the proposed arrangement, as well as all other documents submitted pursuant to § 48.4, are available for public inspection at the Department of Justice and at the main offices of the newspapers involved; and (3) Notice that any person may file written comments or a request for a hearing with the Department of Justice, in accordance with the requirements of § 48.3.

(b) Upon the filing of the notice required in paragraph (a) of this section, the Assistant Attorney General for Administration shall cause notice to be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, and shall cause to be issued a press release setting forth the information contained therein.

(c) If a hearing is scheduled pursuant to § 48.10, the applicants shall publish the time, date, place and purpose of such hearing on their respective front pages at least three times within the 2week period after the hearing has been scheduled (two times if the applicants are weekly newspapers), and for the 3 days preceding such hearing (one day during the week preceding the hearing if the applicants are weekly newspapers).

(d) The applicants shall file copies of each day's newspaper in which the notice required in paragraph (a) or (c) of this section has appeared.

§ 48.7 Report of the Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Antitrust Division.

(a) The Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division shall, not later than 30 days from the publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER of the notice required by §48.6, submit to the Attorney General a report on any application filed pursuant to § 48.4. In preparing such report he may require submission by the applicants of any further information which may be relevant to a determination of whether

§ 48.8 Written comments and requests for a hearing.

(a) Any person who believes that the Attorney General should or should not approve a proposed arrangement, may at any time after filing of the application until 30 days after publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER of the notice required in § 48.6,

(1) File written comments stating the reasons why approval should or should not be granted, and/or

(2) File a request that a hearing be held on the application. A request for a hearing shall set forth the issues of fact to be determined and the reasons that a hearing is required to determine them.

(b) Any person may within 30 days after the filing of any comment or request pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, file a reply for the consideration of the Attorney General.

(c) After the expiration of the time for filing of replies in accordance with § 48.7 and this section the Attorney General shall either approve or deny approval of the arrangement, in accordance with $48.14, or shall order that a hearing be held.

$48.9 Extensions of time.

Any of the time periods established by these Regulations may be extended for good cause, upon timely application to the Attorney General, or to the administrative law judge if one has been appointed.

§ 48.10 Hearings.

(a) Upon the issuance by the Attorney General of an order for a hearing, the Assistant Attorney General for Administration shall appoint an administrative law judge in accordance with section 11 of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 3105. The administrative law judge shall:

(1) Set a date, time and place for the hearing convenient for all parties involved. The date set shall be as soon as practicable, allowing time for publication of the notice required in § 48.6 and for a reasonable period of discovery as provided in this section. In setting a place for the hearing, preference shall be given to the community in which the applicants' newspapers operate.

(2) Mail notice of the hearing to the parties, to each person who filed written comments or a request for a hearing, and to any other person he believes may have an interest in the proceeding.

(3) Permit discovery by any party, as provided in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; except that he may place such limits as he deems reasonable on the time and manner of taking discovery in order to avoid unnecessary delays in the proceedings.

(4) Conduct a hearing in accordance with section 7 of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 556. At such hearing, the burden of proving that the proposed arrangement meets the requirements of the Newspaper Preservation Act will be on the proponents of the arrangement. The rules of evidence which govern civil proceedings in matters not involving trial by jury in the courts of the United States shall apply, but these rules may be relaxed if the ends of justice will be better served in so doing: Provided, that the introduction of irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence is avoided. Only parties to the proceedings may present evidence, or cross-examine witnesses.

(b) The applicants and the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division shall be parties in any hearing held hereunder. Other persons may intervene as parties as provided in § 48.11.

(c) The Assistant Attorney General for Administration shall procure the