Washington Beat

For many years, the legendary Jerry Miller served as Chief Engineer for a Twin Cities AM. Upon his retirement, Miller joined FCC staff across the U.S. and columnist Ken Benner to greatly improve the integrity of the Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program. This encore column from Benner could save your media properties cash.

The Radio Television Digital News Association has announced the addition of two new categories, "a fresh look" and what it calls "a simplified entry process" for the 2020 Edward R. Murrow Awards competition. If you're in the podcast arena, you may want to read this.

The nation's chief voice for broadcasters on Capitol Hill has submitted comments in a proceeding dealing with the assessment and collection of FCC regulatory fees for fiscal 2019. It asks that the Commission take another look at the regulatory fees it's whipped up for VHF stations.

The woman who has most recently served as the Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office is joining the Motion Picture Association as Senior EVP and Global General Counsel. “I can think of no better person," says MPA Chairman/CEO Charles Rivkin.

In mid-April, Univision asked the FCC to have one of its many wholly owned subsidiaries take on direct ownership of Univision Radio. The subsidiary is based in Mexico, and as such a foreign ownership ruling was needed. The Commission has just ruled on the matter.

Two TV stations in the South's biggest market were singled out for failing to include in their respective online political files "certain information about requests to purchase political advertising time for non-candidate issue advertisements." The Media Bureau on Tuesday issued an Order intended to resolve the matter.

The FCC's Media Bureau has commenced a window filing opportunity for pending new rural digital low power and TV translator stations (LPTV/translator stations) displaced by the Commission's Incentive Auction and subsequent station repack process.

A Memorandum Opinion & Order adopted by the FCC's on Oct. 2 resolved some 11 complaints against commercial TV stations owned by seven companies. Or so we thought. A petition for reconsideration of the Order was filed in November, and a comment period is coming.

In 1974, he joined the FCC, and in 2006 took over as Chief of the Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology. Now, as the Thanksgiving Day holiday traffic builds on I-95 south of Lorton and the D.C. departures build, one exit from the FCC has all Inside the Beltway honoring Julie Knapp.

Need to know what to plan for over the next three months? Fletcher Heald & Hildreth has provided a great summary of the broadcast deadlines you'll need to take note of. Simply click here, and be sure to print it and share with those at your radio or TV stations who are actively involved with these tasks!

On September 24, the U.S. Department of Labor published final regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act that raised the minimum salary level necessary to be exempt from federal overtime rules under the Act by almost 50%.  While the changes affect all businesses subject to the FLSA, broadcasters in particular may feel the impact.

Who's representing the individual representing the licensee of a group of AM radio stations in the St. Louis market involved in a license revocation hearing? That's unclear, and the Administrative Law Judge involved has received documents indicating it is not a Fletcher Heald & Hildreth attorney.

In June, Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner and his wife, Karen, were engaged in a 100+ station alternative broadcast inspection tour during which there was substantial concern about translator compliance. He writes about his experiences in this exclusive column.