Washington Beat

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).

The Enforcement Bureau on Friday issued the final Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) audit letters for 2025, sent to randomly selected multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). Some 27 local franchises must comply with the request.

He served as a Republican-aligned FCC Commissioner until First Amendment concerns over Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act cost him his job, with President Trump effectively replacing him with Nate Simington. Now, Mike O'Rielly has resurfaced at The Media Institute as its incoming head.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday confirmed the launch of a new Democratic Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy that will convene throughout 2026. The commission is tasked with developing policy expertise in partnership with the innovation community, relevant stakeholders and committees of jurisdiction.

A media lawyer based at a top Washington, D.C. communications-focused law firm and the woman who serves as Chief Communications Officer of Beasley Media Group have been elected to the Board of Trustees of The Media Institute.

He was a Democrat who served as a Commissioner on the FCC until departing earlier this year. Now, he has resurfaced at a entity that has little to do with grain elevators and anything depicted in the classic film Footloose.  That's because Grain Management is a private investment firm.

There's something more than pupusas, Mojarra Frita and baleadas attracting Latinos who travel U.S. 60 near Busch Gardens and the sprawling Yorktown Naval Weapons Station to the north of Newport News, Va. You can't find it on the menu, but one could certainly find it on an FM radio earlier this year.

It had operated as a Class B AM radio station. As of Monday morning, it was reduced to an online-only offering featuring Christmas music. That's because this facility no longer has a broadcast signal. The FCC affirmed the cancellation of its license, for being dark for too long without permission and then seeking its renewal.

It was originally anticipated in early October, but the shutdown of the federal government resulted in a pause of all non-essential efforts at the FCC, which furloughed more than 1,000 individuals over the funding squabble on Capitol Hill.  Now, the Commission has released its quarterly station totals. The big takeaway: commercial AM and FM stations declined in number once again.

The Vice President of Public Policy at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) has provided a formal Letter for the Record to a key House Subcommittee that outlines the impacts of a potential permanent Daylight Saving Time on stations reliant on service in the kHz band.

Shared cultural moments, freely available to every household for generations, are increasingly being pulled behind paid streaming platforms. What does this mean for over-the-air stations that have always made this content universally accessible? NAB Chief of Staff Michelle Lehman shares her thoughts on the subject.

As of this morning, the LMS is operational. And, the FCC — with help from the Federal Register's editorial team — is moving quickly with establishing the comment window on the long-delayed 2022 Quadrennial Review of the Commission's media ownership rules.