Washington Beat

The SVP of Communications at the nation's foremost voice for radio and television stations inside the Beltway has "made the difficult decision to pursue another professional opportunity."

The latest station count, according to the FCC, for broadcast radio and television stations in the U.S. is out. And, as of the end of 2025, two big takeaways can be seen. FM noncomms rose in total number, thanks to stations signing off after a recent FCC application window for new facilities. At the same time, LPFMs were on the rise.

Two key Members of the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee have drawn accolades from the President/CEO of the NAB, who singles out their calls for the FCC to modernize "outdated" ownership restrictions and to lift the national television ownership cap.

The FCC's Enforcement Bureau on Monday indicated that it seeks to collect $20,000 in fines from four individuals found to have been responsible for unlicensed radio broadcasts. A forthcoming Supreme Court ruling could ultimately determine if the Commission is empowered to collect the cash.

The FCC on Friday confirmed that it has granted the Elon Musk-controlled SpaceX "a major authorization" to advance its second-generation Starlink satellite system, marking a significant milestone in global broadband connectivity.

The FCC has released its January Open Meeting agenda, and among the four items up for a vote is  a Fourth Report and Order that would permit a new class of unlicensed 6 GHz devices—geofenced variable power (GVP) unlicensed devices—that operate outdoors at higher power.

Giving radio and TV station owners more oomph and "empowering local voices" are two of the big takeaways from the National Association of Broadcasters as the advocacy group for over-the-air media assesses its chief accomplishments of the past year.

Iconic former FCC Chairman and Wiley Law founder Richard E. "Dick" Wiley will step down on January 31 as Chair of The Media Institute's Board of Trustees, completing a three-decade run in the role. We know who his successor will be.

He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia in 2009 and before joining the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. Now this Tar Heel is the FCC's Chief Economist.

The Copyright Royalty Judges have confirmed that they've started three proceedings that will eventually determine "reasonable rates and terms" for the use of sound recordings — including how much satellite radio service provider Sirius XM and public broadcasting entities will be asked to fork over between 2028 and 2032.

After 58 years of service to the American public, the Board of Directors has formally voted to dissolve the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The decision follows Congress’s decision to rescind all federal funding at the behest of President Trump.

A 5G leader that was formed and purpose-built to "rapidly deliver secure, high-performance 5G and 6G commercial technologies that integrate mission-focused AI and machine-learning capabilities" to meet the federal government's is welcoming a former FCC Commissioner as a Director.

A key Democratic U.S. Senator, along with two colleagues in the upper body of Congress and three House of Representatives Members, have written to the Acting Bureau Chief of the FCC and Chairman Brendan Carr urging them to greatly consider all of the factors tied to Nexstar's proposed TEGNA deal.

While Anna M. Gómez has had her priorities, including bipartisan goals that should unite the FCC, the past 10 months has see the Commission take "a markedly different approach" — one the lone Democratic votemaker at the agency is highly critical of. This includes likely thawing of media ownership caps.

The former President/CEO of the Media Financial Management Association and its Broadcast Cable Credit Association subsidiary has been named Executive Director of the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF).