Washington Beat

Pete Olson of Texas has become the second Republican Member of Congress this week to announce his retirement, and say no to a 2020 reelection campaign. Olson is presently a member of the House E&C's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, with FCC oversight.

License renewal pre-filing announcements. Radio post-filing announcements. License renewal applications for radio stations in the Carolinas. These are just some of the things coming for broadcasters in the month of August. Thanks to Fletcher Heald & Hildreth, we have a complete FCC deadline review.

A 2016 University of Michigan grad, this now former Legislative Assistant for Republican House Member Tim Walberg is taking the role of "Professional Staff Member" on the important-to-broadcast media House E&C Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

The nation's top pro-small MVPD lobbying group is calling on the FCC to further reduce the "burdens" associated with leased access capacity that cable operators must make available to programmers.

A little bit of Public Knowledge was enough to convince the FCC's newest Commissioner, Geoffrey Starks, to make his selection of a Special Advisor. That organization's Communications Justice Policy Fellow will now be closely working with the Democrat.

Reducing regulatory burdens for broadcast media. Lowering the use of paper. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been a champion of both since taking over leadership of the Commission. On Monday, Pai introduced two more proposals designed to "modernize" FCC processes.

A municipality of less than 200 people made famous in June 2007 when an Oregon man purchased half the town after a visit to simply go antique shopping has no local radio stations of its own. The nearest AMs and FMs are at least 40 miles away. That's about to change.

"One of the greatest joys of life is being appreciated by those for whom we can lend a helping hand," says Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner. "It could be a simple explanation of some basic problem never previously experienced by someone." During a recent Alternative inspection tour involving dozens of radio and television stations, Ken and his wife, Karen, found this conduct so very helpful.

Geoffrey Starks has publicly released responses he received from major voice service providers to letters he sent in June seeking details about their plans to offer free, default robocall blocking services to consumers. Why? He’s less than pleased with the responses he received.

Ken Benner and his wife, Karen, have just returned to Tucson from a 4,000-mile tour of several dozen radio, TV and translator stations -- where they teamed to conduct FCC-approved alternative inspections. Benner recounts his experiences on the road -- and at a Class B AM billed as "The Talk of mid-Utah."

In February 2011, the NAB welcomed Zamir Ahmed as its Media Relations Manager following a two-year stint as deputy press secretary for the House Committee on Small Business. He later rose to the director role. Now, he's been promoted again.

The Children’s Television Act was enacted in 1990. "Things have changed a lot in the 29 years since," FCC Chairman Ajit Pai began in offering an explanation as to why, in the majority Republican view of the Commission, "modernization" of its KidVid rules arrived on Wednesday.

The FCC on Tuesday released its Broadcast Station Totals for the second quarter of 2019. The biggest headline from the new totals: Translators and boosters remain highly important to licensees, and continue to grow in number. At the same time, there was a dip in the number of commercially licensed FMs.

The United States Copyright Office on Friday designated the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), created by U.S. music publishers and songwriters, as the new entity tasked with licensing and administering rights under the Music Modernization Act (MMA).