Washington Beat

In this column from AEI Visiting Scholar Mark Jamison, questions the "Journalism Competition and Preservation Act of 2019." The Act would give media companies an antitrust exemption to collectively withhold content and negotiate prices with online distributors with at least 1 billion monthly users.

Three Members of the House of Representatives have added their co-sponsorship to a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations — the "Local Radio Freedom Act." It has 24 co-sponsors in the Senate, too.

The powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee is welcoming a new member of the senior staff for the committee Republicans: A party-aligned Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, which directly oversees the FCC.

The FCC today rewrote the procedures and rules governing the direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service. The decision, the FCC says, aligns the Commission’s DBS processing procedures with its recently streamlined processing procedures for geostationary orbit fixed-satellite service satellites.  

Attending the Radio Show and need to sign off on all regulatory payments to the FCC? Head's up: The FCC says that regulatory fees for fiscal year 2019 must be submitted by 10:59pm Central time on September 27.

The FCC is presently engaged in a review of EEO compliance and enforcement in broadcast and MVPD "programming industries," and a review of its broadcast and cable EEO rules and policies. Some 37 national organizations had something to say.

As RBR+TVBR first reported at RBR.com, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected the FCC's cross-ownership rules and its incubator program, remanding it for a do-over. FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks were pleased with the ruling.

Continuous adoration of Christ couldn't prevent a Class D AM with a Black Gospel format from receiving a proposed penalty for sins it committed. The transgressions? Failure to prepare quarterly issues and programs lists and upload the information into the FCC's OPIF.

On March 27, FCC document "DA 19-214" was released by the Commission. Featured columnist Ken Benner took notice, as it included a request for membership in the Technological Advisory Council. "My colleagues, with far more experience and talent than I, expressed interest in this 'wonderful, prestigious' invitation," he notes.

An Oklahoma multimedia company that in 2018 acquired five radio stations in Tulsa from The E.W. Scripps Co. is planning a grand opening celebration of a Washington, D.C., bureau that will produce content specifically for those back home in the Sooner state.

In February 2018, a woman who formerly led the ABC owned-and-operated WPVI-6 in Philadelphia was chosen to serve as the Senior VP of Television for the NAB. She later added Radio duties. Now, she's gaining a seat on the Board of Directors of the Library of American Broadcasting.

The non-voting Delegate for Washington, D.C., in the House of Representatives and a California House Member have taken lead roles in a group of Congressional leaders seeking a FCC investigation into whether a local radio station aired propaganda sponsored by the government of Russia.

Need more time to handle the biennial filing window for the submission of broadcast ownership reports on two FCC forms? You're in luck. The Media Bureau, on its own motion, has postponed the opening of the 2019 biennial filing window.

In a new analysis released Thursday, Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Phoenix Center offers an evaluation of the competing methods for repurposing the C-Band. It appeals to principal-agent theory where the government is the principal and the consortium of satellite incumbents is the agent.

Early next year, the National Association of Broadcasters intends to move into its new home, near Nationals Park in Southeast Washington, at 1 M Street. On Monday, the NAB officially became the building's new owner, closing on the multi-million dollar acquisition.