Washington Beat

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) has created a fellowship in the name of an iconic broadcasting industry-focused Washington, D.C. attorney, who calls it "an honor of a lifetime for which I am grateful."

The House Energy & Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology — the Congressional body that has direct oversight of the FCC — has a new Chief Counsel. And, it is someone who has strong ties to Dish Network, Sling TV and Boost Mobile.

The FCC has set its comment date and reply comment date for GN Docket No. 16-142, the matter authorizing permissive use of the "next generation" broadcast television standard. Along with a 73-page document came statements from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioners Olivia Trusty and Anna Gómez.

A growing philosophical split is emerging at the FCC over the scope of its authority and the definition of “public interest” in modern broadcasting, and both NPR and PBS Member stations are in the Carr Commission's crosshairs. This generated warnings from Anna Gómez, as Brendan Carr justified the investigations.

The man who serves as the legal advisor managing the wireless, space, international, engineering and technology, and public safety portfolios for FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty will be out of the office through the end of January 2026. Why? He's a new daddy.

With Tesla deciding to end both AM and FM radio access in two of its entry-level models, Congressional passage of the "AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act" is more urgent than ever. For NAB EVP of Public Affairs and Chief of Staff Michelle Lehman, getting the bill to the full House for a long-awaited vote is a must.

One of the first staff members of what started out as National Public Radio and is today simply NPR has died at the age of 87. In the words of her son Josh, Susan Stamberg was "a true humanitarian" who believed in the power of great journalism. "Her life's work was connection, through ideas and culture."

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.