Washington Beat

The FCC on Tuesday proclaimed its "initial success" in “Operation Clean Carts,” an action led by the FCC's Council on National Security designed to rid e-Commerce sites with U.S. customers of the ability to sell equipment produced by Chinese entities deemed a risk to the nation.

Gray Television is moving ahead with a trio of station acquisition deals in the wake of a federal appeals court striking down the FCC’s “Top Four” ownership ban, as the Commission’s Media Bureau has the pleading cycle for public comment with petitions to deny due next week — assuming the federal government reopens.

An Ohio Congresswoman has become a co-sponsor of legislation Introduced by Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) that seeks to revive the Minority Tax Certificate program, which from 1978 to 1995 helped facilitate hundreds of broadcast ownership transfers to women and people of color.

He previously worked in the Audio Division of the FCC's Media Bureau under its chief, Al Shuldiner. Now, he is the newest Associate Attorney at Inside-the-Beltway communications law firm Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth.

A new track is coming to the NAB Show New York conference in roughly two weeks that will examine AI and automation in news production, focusing on how AI is transforming how news is gathered, produced and disseminated.

A former SBS VP of Corporate and Government Affairs and senior advisor to then-President/COO Albert Rodriguez is teaming up with him to serve in a newly created position designed to bring valued political advertising dollars to the publicly traded parent of Estrella Media and two big New York radio stations. 

Speaking via video at the Copper Theft Crisis: Incident Management and Prosecutorial Collaboration Summit on October 7, the GOP-aligned FCC Commissioner said the scale of attacks on broadcasters, cable providers, and other networks demands stronger penalties and industry-wide cooperation.

Even with the FCC in stasis during the government shutdown, Commissioner Anna Gomez is on the move. On her First Amendment Tour, she’s warning that the 2022 Quadrennial Review and any rollback of radio and TV ownership caps could silence local voices.

Yes, the FCC is effectively shuttered due to the federal government shutdown due to lack of funding amid Capitol Hill squabbling between Republicans and Democrats. But that didn't stop Chairman Brendan Carr from circulating a proposal on Friday to set interim rate caps and to review the IPCS framework.

The Federal Communications Commission has largely shut down alongside the federal government, with more than four out of five employees furloughed and day-to-day systems frozen - including the licensing and comment portals broadcasters rely on for transactions and regulatory engagement.

 Anna M. Gómez, the fiery lone Democrat on the Commission, on Thursday will be at Ole Miss speaking out against GOP-fueled efforts she believes squelch freedom of speech. Her visit comes on what's expected to be the second day of a federal government shutdown due to a lack of funding.

The Media Bureau's Audio Division, on its own motion, is proposing to amend the Table of FM Allotments by substituting the FM channel or class for five existing vacant FM allotments located in various communities in Alabama, California, and Texas. Why? Compliance with minimum distance separation requirements is the reason.

A D.C. think tank has teamed up with more than 70 legal scholars and free speech groups to express their concerns over recent threats by Brendan Carr "to punish broadcasters for airing constitutionally protected speech—an attempt to pressure media outlets through vague legal claims and regulatory intimidation."

At its August Open Meeting, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to reexamine the Emergency Alert System. Now the NAB is making its voice heard, warning that modernization must preserve broadcasters' roles as “first informers” in a crisis.

The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau within the FCC has taken a moment to highlight what it considers "best practices" for cross-sector cooperation and network resiliency during hurricane season — which is far from over, as a storm could be nearing the U.S. Southeast early next week.