Washington Beat

The FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai has made it clear that it will aggressively fight pirate radio broadcasters who have illegally set up shop on the FM dial. On April 10, the Commission got tough. Field agents, joined by US. Marshals, raided a New York City apartment and seized equipment from an unauthorized station.

Some 88 years ago, the FCC adopted its first broadcast license posting rules. Over the years, these rules were expanded to apply to then-nascent services, including FM radio and TV. Then came the internet ... but no changes to the FCC's requirements. That's poised to change in another "modernization" proposal.

Is the public comment process broken? Does the way the Federal government presently seeks input from the public fail to weed out fraud? Yes, says Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who slams her agency for failing to work with state authorities that found their residents' identities were stolen and then used to file public comments on Net Neutrality. Here are her comments, delivered Wednesday at a liberal-leaning D.C. think tank.

Streamlining the process for filing an FM translator interference complaint, and the remediation procedures used by the FCC to resolve such an issue, is one step closer to fruition. The Commission has issued an NPRM that will allow the public to comment before the FCC votes on its proposed changes.

With the first phase of the post-incentive auction repack rapidly approaching, licensees of full power and Class A television stations should be mindful of upcoming deadlines for notifications to multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), medical facilities, and viewers, Wiley Rein associate Ari Meltzer, partner John Burgett and of counsel Joan Stewart note in this report. 

How long can one fight for what they believe is right? For Ed Stolz, the answer is 22 years. He's been protesting the sale of the station today known as KUDL-FM in Sacramento since February 1996. Based on a ruling made Tuesday by the FCC's General Counsel, Stolz will need to extend the long duration of his fight — or finally call it quits.

Under Chairman Ajit Pai and fueled by the passion of Republican Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, pirate radio enforcement at the FCC has been much fiercer than under the previous regime of ex-Chairman Tom Wheeler.  But, the agency is limited in its financial penalties and abilities to squash a pirate once and for all. A New Jersey House Member seeks to change that.

The owner of a Class A FM to the Southwest of San Antonio received a NAL from the FCC for operating the station from an unauthorized location. Can the fine be reduced or eliminated? One of those two things just happened.

A 1939 law prohibits employees in the executive branch of the U.S. government from engaging in some forms of political activity. It's called the Hatch Act, and two leading House Energy & Commerce Committee members say all three Republican FCC Commissioners recently violated it. They want an investigation.

Don't mistake this column for a grumble session from our octogenarian Alternative Broadcast Inspection Program (ABIP) pioneer. Rather, he's come to praise the current Commission leadership, not bury it with a spoonful of grumbling goulash. 

What's a "deal killer"? How can you avoid them? To help best answer these questions, Garvey Schubert Barer communications attorney Erwin Krasnow and DEFCom Advisors CEO Doug Ferber created a new limited series of podcasts based on a 2017 Media Information Bureau column on this very subject. RBR+TVBR Editor-in-Chief is the host, and the guests are the operating partners of Community Broadcasters.

Do you know what FCC filing deadlines are in the coming weeks? Thanks to Fletcher Heald & Hildreth, we have a handy checklist of what's due to the FCC over the next two months, and when things must be completed by.

Last week, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP attorneys David Oxenford and Aaron Burstein conducted a webinar for several state broadcast associations on the legal issues in digital and social media advertising. Here are the details from this webinar, along with a link to the deck used by the attorneys for their presentation.

A feature from Morning Consult on the future of outgoing Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn is making waves across Capitol Hill. With days remaining in her nine-year tenure, she admits, "I really believe at this time that I would be a better public servant not serving on the FCC."

Mick Mulvaney, for those of you who don't follow Washington politics, is the current head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He's said a thing or two about lobbyists. Why should this matter to radio and/or TV station owners? This column from Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner explains it all. It could make your lawyers testy.