Legacy

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.

The radio industry could be sitting on a profit-making goldmine. Beasley Broadcasting Group CEO Caroline Beasley sees the potential. Now, the FCC Chairman during the Reagan Administration is ready to make a big splash with a technology that can give HD Radio a boost -- and make FM radio a powerful tool in the growth of "IoT." Read more in this exclusive RBR+TVBR INFOCUS report now available to Tech readers.

A Democratic Member of the U.S. Senate this morning spoke out against changes to the FCC's rules regarding Net Neutrality, noting that as long as Chairman Ajit Pai continues to support the end of Title II classification for broadband, she can't support his vote for staying on as the agency's leader. Immediately following the anti-Pai rally call came details of a GOP tax reform proposal that the NAB says helps broadcasters.

Nearly five years ago, a resident of North Miami, Fla., was handed a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture of $25,000 for his efforts designed "to evade detection" of an unlicensed radio operation. Today, the FCC still hasn't silenced the pirate radio operation serving the area's sizable Haitian population. A proposed maximum fine nearly six times that 2012 financial penalty seeks to squelch the broadcasting buccaneer once and for all.

In the first 5-0 unanimous vote of the new FCC led by Chairman Ajit Pai, the Commission has given the green light to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would eliminate rules requiring TV stations, along with cable entities and FM translators, to keep paper copies of FCC rules. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn was no longer skeptical of the proposal, while newly arrived Republican Brendan Carr was quite vocal of the need to modernize the FCC.