Washington Beat

As long-time New York Tri-State area radio listeners know, there are two well-known stations licensed to Paterson, N.J. — Multicultural Radio Broadcasting's Class B WPAT-AM 930, and SBS's Class B Spanish Contemporary WPAT-FM 93.1 "Amor". However, a third Paterson-based signal has popped up on the dial at various times over the past several years. It's not supposed to be there. The FCC is trying again to kill it once and for all.

The FCC, as part of its "modernization" efforts championed by Republican Chairman Ajit Pai, required every licensed broadcast and cable TV station and every licensed radio station to have an online public inspection file activated by March 1. Fifteen requests, filed on behalf of 39 radio stations, for additional time were filed with the Commission. These stations have just been granted an extension.

The pro-MVPD American Television Alliance (ATVA), which is an American Cable Association member, has filed reply comments with the FCC that addresses broadcaster oppositions to its previous petition for reconsideration of the FCC’s ATSC 3.0 Order. 

It's no secret that the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C. conservative-leaning think tank, has had a large influence on the FCC since the transition in power associated with the election of President Donald Trump. From senior fellow Jeff Eisenach, a part of the FCC Trump transition team, to visiting scholar Roslyn Layton, the AEI has helped put its agenda forward with the help of such willing partners as Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, who spoke before the AEI on Thursday. He discussed two of four "apparently unrelated policy issue areas being discussed these days."

Four Members of the House of Representatives and one Senator have added their support to a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations.

In a blog post published this afternoon, ahead of the release of an official agenda, FCC Chairman Pai outlined the items for the FCC’s May Open Meeting, on May 10. It will be the first for the FCC as a four-Commissioner agency under Pai, as Democrat Mignon Clyburn shocked all at the close of the FCC's April Open Meeting on Tuesday by saying it would be her last. Additional comments on Commissioner Clyburn’s departure from the FCC were included in Pai's post.

From ACA's perspective, Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn "had no equal in understanding the value that independent providers deliver to their communities and the big impact they are having," President/CEO Matthew M. Polka said in a statement released late Tuesday following Clyburn's unexpected announcement that the FCC's April Open Meeting will be her last.

Boy, is Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner cantankerous today. Is he sizzling from the Tucson heat, or because of his continued frustration with Washington politics and its impact on not only the FCC but your stations' bank account? Yeah ... it would be the latter, as he suggests the FCC modernize its rules by ditching its Public File rules altogether. Say what? Read on and see if you agree.

Following months of speculation regarding the future of one of the FCC's longest-serving Commissioners, Mignon Clyburn today at the Commission's April Open Meeting revealed what her future will be. She's leaving the FCC, and today's meeting was her last as a Democratic member of the agency.

The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau just issued its report card on the third nationwide test of the EAS system. What's the grade? We've got the details on a largely positive report card on IPAWS.

The Incentive Auction Task Force and the Media Bureau on Monday announced what many broadcast media companies hoped would have happened last week as their top executives gathered at the 2018 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The issuance of a further allocation of the TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund has been given the green-light by the FCC. So, just how much cash is going in to the reimbursement fund, and who is eligible for these funds?

On Tuesday, the FCC was to debate and discuss at its April Open Meeting an amendment of Section 73.624(g) of its rules regarding the submission of a form used to report TV stations' ancillary or supplementary services. There's now no discussion on the topic set for Tuesday. That's because the Commissioners are unanimous in their belief that a revision to this rule is necessary.

For broadcasters across The Wolverine State, the home of Sparty, this summer promises to be Grand. That's because the Michigan Association of Broadcasters will be holding its  Advocacy Conference and Annual Meeting on August 13-14 at The Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Mich. A national historic landmark featured in Hollywood films across the decades, the Grand will now play host to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

The LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition on Thursday formally requested an immediate extension of the LPTV special filing window for at least an additional two weeks. It actually prefers a 30-day extension, and here's why.