Washington Beat

What happens when an individual handed a Notice of Unlicensed Operation from the FCC disregards it and continues to operate an unlicensed radio station? They get a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture. That's just what was given to a pirate radio operator in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley.

The likely removal of the FCC's Title II classification of broadband and a vote on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on the FCC’s national TV ownership cap, including the UHF discount, are two big highlights of what is in store at the Commission's Dec. 14 Open Meeting. Reaction was swift -- and most of it vicious in its opposition to the proposals drafted by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. One Commissioner even assailed Pai for revealing the details in a pre-holiday "news dump."

The fight over the removal of Title II classification for broadband, thus ending the two-year-old "net neutrality" rules created by the FCC under former Chairman Tom Wheeler, is already set to be a fierce one -- even though Democrats find themselves in the minority on a vote that is all-but inevitably affirmative come Dec. 14. The war officially began on Twitter at High Noon, Eastern time, thanks to Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. "Let's roar," she declared in sharing her official public statement on the medium most-preferred by the President of the United States.

Following details leaked by a source to The Wall Street Journal, the FCC on Tuesday morning made Washington's worst-kept secret official: What some call "net neutrality" and others bemoan as a hindrance to internet freedom will be up for vote at the Commission's Dec. 14 Open Meeting. The results won't be a surprise, with the GOP majority clearly in support of the "Restoring Internet Freedom Order." Why is this important for broadcasters? We have an RBR+TVBR Observation on that.

"There are plenty of overly burdensome regulations out there that are holding back U.S. entrepreneurship and ingenuity. But if people call them out and fight back, change is possible." Those words concluded a speech delivered Friday in New York at the Cato Institute Policy Perspective 2017 luncheon by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. In his view, less regulation can foster business growth. It was the crux of his keynote address, which we are pleased to offer to RBR+TVBR readers.

"It was a tough battle, but it was the right decision." That's what Jeff Warshaw, CEO of Connoisseur Media, told RBR+TVBR on Friday morning as he formally shared the biggest and most positive bit of news he'd be hoping for from the FCC for months. With the 3-2 vote to eliminate the Commission's media cross-ownership rules came a victory for Warshaw and other operators, including Pamal Broadcasting, with respect to how the FCC will view embedded markets. In short, relief is here -- and he's more than relieved.

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."