Washington Beat

The House of Representatives on Thursday (11/16) approved comprehensive tax reform legislation. That was another cause for celebration in a day that saw NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith issue a plethora of joyous statements.

The FCC on Thursday issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on whether to eliminate Form 325. That's the "Annual Report of Cable Television Systems," which collects information about cable system operations, last updated as part of the FCC's 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review.

The Weed Whacker was put to action by a whipper snapper and two of his GOP colleagues at the Commission on Thursday, as the FCC voted 3-2 to eliminate its cross-ownership rules for newspaper and broadcast media and for radio and TV, respectively. The "Eight-Voices Test" is also gone. Democrats were vociferous in their opposition, but further action to stop the changes is now up to Congress -- or, more likely, the courts.

Led by Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell of Washington and Tom Udall of New Mexico, 15 Senators are looking for a last-minute blockade of a vote set for tomorrow's November Open Meeting that is expected to pass by a 3-2 margin. This vote, the GOP-led Commission, argues, "updates the Commission's broadcast ownership and attribution rules to reflect the current media marketplace." Democrats say otherwise, and believe the FCC is assisting Sinclair in its planned merger with Tribune Media. That's why they want a recusal, and the NAB says no way.

For well over 50 years, featured Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner has communicated directly with the FCC on what he calls a "friendly good faith basis, with never a problem" He's asked them for suggestions. They've asked Benner for propositions and recommendations. Such communication has led to what he considers "significant common-sense changes" on more than occasion, he writes. Unfortunately, there's another enabler at play. That would be Congress.

Has FCC Chairman Ajit Pai taken improper actions to benefit Sinclair Broadcast Group in its bid to merge with Tribune Media -- namely, bringing back the Commission's "UHF Discount" so such a Goliath transaction can take place? Two leading Democrats in the House of Representatives say so, and they want the FCC's Inspector General to investigate the matter.

The FCC has selected the program manager for Native American and International Affairs at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to serve as its new chief of ONAP -- the Office of Native Affairs and Policy.

What's fact and what's fiction with respect to broadcast regulation and its impact on multicultural broadcasters and consumers? That's exactly what was discussed in a Thursday phone call that saw the president of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) and the President Emeritus and Senior Advisor for the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) discuss what they consider the facts with the Chief of Staff for Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has a whole bunch of mail from Congress to answer. Thank Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell for the cordial written correspondence. Dingell is one of 13 Members of Congress who penned a letter to Pai today that raises "serious concerns" regarding the Commission's proposal -- authored by the Chairman -- "to essentially eliminate the existing broadcast TV ownership rules with virtually no public input."

The FCC today granted the Merger and Divestiture Applications submitted by Entercom and CBS Corp. — the final hurdle that will see the Reverse Morris Trust-fueled merger of CBS Radio with Entercom's radio holdings. The deal's approval, the Commission says, is "subject to certain conditions." With that, the FCC also granted associated waivers on a temporary basis of six months. 

A member of powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), has written directly to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai demanding "a complete understanding of the overall impacts of this new standard." 

On June 29, the FCC's Media Bureau dismissed an application from Cortaro Broadcasting Corp. to renew the license of an AM station it owns in Arizona. This led to a license cancellation and the deletion of its call sign from the FCC database. Did the Media Bureau go to far? We now know. Also in TRANSACTIONS TODAY: A tower deal has closed, with Kalil & Co. serving as the broker.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed the new Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). In doing so, it gave its thumbs up to the individual who has until now served as Chief Council on Communications and Technology for the House Energy & Commerce Committee.

The Media Bureau is temporarily lifting the freeze imposed on April 5, 2013 on the filing and processing of minor modification applications that would increase a full power television station’s noise-limited contour or a Class A station’s protected contour in one or more directions beyond the station’s authorized facilities.

Doug Ferber of DEFcom Advisors LLC and Erwin Krasnow of Garvey Schubert Barer have created a special podcast series exclusively for RBR+TVBR members based on a series of articles centered on the topic “Broadcast Deal Myths Debunked.” In this ninth podcast installment, Ferber and Krasnow discuss the myth that one should avoid deal intermediaries.