Legacy

Dana Withers has agreed to add another radio station to the Withers Broadcasting Co. family. This time around, the station is "volunteering" to the sale. Also in TRANSACTIONS TODAY: A blueberry of a deal has closed in Maine.

Looking for a great way to make a difference for your advertisers — one that helps your stations stand out from the pack? Our Free Webinar can bring the answers! Media attribution and data analytics can help to bring you to that goal, and Veritone and RBR+TVBR have teamed up to provide you with free insights, ideas and inspiration set for delivery in a special webinar on Thursday, Nov. 9.

For 33 years, this individual led the engineering efforts of all Greater Media stations. With the company's sale to Beasley Broadcast Group, it was time for a change ... or retirement. The former was selected, and the result is the rebranding of an engineering consultancy that directly acknowledges his arrival.

A leading provider of drone services for "enterprise customers" has refined the way it wishes to work with the entire arts and entertainment industry -- including broadcast media companies. With that, Measure has launched Measure Media (M2), which the company calls "the first nationwide network of full-time drone pilots specializing in meeting the airborne storytelling needs of both small screen and big screen projects."

Casa Media Partners is in bankruptcy. The sale of its seven full-power radio stations, an FM translator and an FM booster, supervised by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, was ordered for this entity with its headquarters within view of the Rickenbacker Causeway connecting Miami to Key Biscayne, Fla. With attorney David Tillotson as its legal counsel, Casa struck a deal that ends its ownership of the properties. Who's the buyer? A prolific operator of Hispanic radio stations in the Golden State.

On Thursday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released a draft order that would modernize regulations governing ownership of local print, radio and TV news outlets, in order to allow the industry to better adapt to the changing media landscape. What's the view of TechFreedom, a non-profit, non-partisan technology policy think tank that believes "technology enhances freedom, and freedom enhances technology"? They're all for it, and have been for years.

The Supreme Court for the State of Florida has unanimously sided with a decision rendered by the state's Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming that common law in the Sunshine State does not recognize an exclusive right of public performance in pre-1972 sound recordings. Translation: Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, otherwise known as "Flo & Eddie," co-founders of 1960s pop act Turtles, have lost their copyright battle waged in Tallahassee.

Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner is back with an essay that recalls his inspection of a tiny noncommercial radio station that aired a resounding rendition of The Star Spangled Banner every day at Noon. The reason why raised some questions regarding station funding, and thus the station's Public File. Here's the story, which might apply to your own station or one in your market.

The FCC late Wednesday paused by 15 days the 180-Day transaction "Shot Clock" in the proceeding for transfer of control of Tribune Media Co. to Sinclair Broadcast Group to allow for additional comment. By midday Thursday, Tribune Media signaled it was ready to roll with its acquisition by Sinclair, leaving it up to the Federal government to make the next move. 

Meredith Corp., the owner of broadcast TV stations across the U.S. that's also focused on women's brands, will report its fiscal 2018 Q1 results on Thursday, Oct. 26, before the Opening Bell on Wall Street.

It's a good week to be a member of iHeartMedia's team of corporate counsel. On Thursday, the Delaware state Supreme Court declined to bring back a derivative claim from a disgruntled investor who argued that the directors of iHeart subsidiary Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings breached their duty by failing to request a repayment of $1 billion from iHeart. This affirms a November 2016 ruling against GAMCO.

The FCC in December 2016 received a minor modification request for the CP of a noncommercial FM in Coggon, Iowa. An informal objection to the licensee's request came on Feb. 7, from Kirkwood Community College. Subsequent oppositions to the objection and reply comments were then submitted to the FCC. The Media Bureau has now rendered a decision in the matter.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has created an internal task force designed to continue the Commission’s work in support of the restoration of communications services in the Texas Gulf Coast, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands — areas severely impacted by three strong hurricanes. Communications remains severely impaired in the U.S. Caribbean territories. Jessica Rosenworcel said, "You're Welcome." A Democratic House Member wants more.

It's not often that Educational Media Foundation decides to sell a radio station, given its ravenous appetite for expansion opportunities for its Christian Contemporary Music KLOVE and Air1 noncommercial formats. Yet, EMF is selling a Class A in the Lafayette, Ind., market, and the buyer is howlingly happy about the deal.

A Member of the House of Representatives serving North Carolina's fourth Congressional District has taken aim at the FCC for its "UHF discount," noting during a Tuesday call with members of the press that — as many others have argued — the return of the rule by the Commission is giving Sinclair Broadcast Group an unacceptable ability to acquire Tribune Media.