the HOT List

Nick Cannon, who rose to fame on Season Five of Nickelodeon's kids sketch comedy show All That in the late 1990s and today is a widely known multimedia star, is stepping away from his daily radio program after making statements judged as anti-Semitic on his podcast. Skyview Networks, as well as Power 106 in L.A., and a big fall syndicated TV show are all impacted.

Larry Lewis (pictured), and his wife Kim are the newest minority owners of a TV station. They recently filed to purchase a Class A TV station serving the Tennessee Valley of northern Alabama. Why did they buy the property? What sort of programming and advertising plans are in the works? Find out in this great 10-minute RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast hosted by Adam R Jacobson. LISTEN HERE

While the "main attraction" of the Commission's August Open Meeting, in the view of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, is the repurposing of C-Band spectrum for 5G, two big "media modernization" rule changes are on the agenda. One involves the sharing of broadcast facilities in certain situations, a rule adopted during World War II. The other involves the radio duplication rule.

In a letter sent July 10 to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) and released to the media on Wednesday, HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo admits that even with efforts from the White House, the Ad Council, and Congressional funding for HHS itself, "[Y]ou are correct. We must do more."

What is Radio's position in the local media marketplace now and going forward? What are the more challenging verticals for Radio as marketers are more cross-platform than ever with their consumer messaging? Those are just some of the questions tackled during a Tuesday webinar devoted to the state of the radio industry presented by BIA Advisory Services.

In a busy Monday for Cincinnati-based media entity The E.W. Scripps Company, the official end of ownership of a former Tribune Media property serving the Big Apple has been acquired by a favored shared services partner of Nexstar Media Group.

America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) and the NAB on Monday filed comments in response to the Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on potential changes to its rules governing Distributed Transmission Systems (DTS). The filing urges the Commission to move forward quickly with an order amending the existing DTS rules. Here's why.

The E.W. Scripps Company has entered into an agreement with SiriusXM to sell its podcast business Stitcher for $325 million, a deal first hinted at last week by The Wall Street Journal.

The Video Advertising Bureau (VAB on Monday responded to the surprising reversal on Friday of Nielsen's decision to postpone the integration of out-of-home viewing into national TV measurement. "It was crystal clear that a quick reversal was Nielsen’s only viable option,” said VAB President/CEO Sean Cunningham.

Cumulus Media stock recovered from a week's worth of downward movement, as investors reacted positively to two key announcements made internally at the audio media company led by CEO Mary Berner. First, Westwood One News is closing. Second, 3% of Cumulus' company-wide employee roster will be told they no longer have jobs.

As part of its Hawaiian operation acquired in the Raycom merger, Gray Television owns several neighbor-island broadcast facilities relaying programming from Oah'u. Now, it is adding to that collection with a Hawai'i-based facility formerly known as KLEI-TV. It puts into question the future of "Telemundo Honolulu."

Failing to conduct a radio contest substantially as announced or advertised is a violation of explicit FCC rules. Two radio stations were found to have apparently broken these rules. One is a Gow Media FM in Texas. The other is a Townsquare Media FM serving El Paso.

He's seeking to be the next U.S. Senator from Tennessee. And, he's serious about his campaign as a Republican Party candidate, and his quest to join party-mate Marsha Blackburn in the upper body of Congress come January. As such, George Flinn Jr. is selling media assets, and the latest deal involves nine properties -- all of which are going to Educational Media Foundation.

Are FM translators no different than FM boosters? If they are equal, in the eyes of the FCC, shouldn't both be considered as GeoBroadcast Solutions seeks Commission approval on a proposal to bring unique programming to an FM booster? It's a hot topic, and the focus of this fresh RBR+TVBR InFOCUS podcast. LISTEN HERE

The nation's dominant audience measurement and consumer data analysis company calls it "a broad-based optimization plan to drive permanent cost savings and operational efficiencies," a move that is designed to position it for greater profitability and growth. Others may simply call it Downsizing Day. Nielsen is shedding some 3,500 jobs globally.