Washington Beat

A bipartisan bill supporting the safe development of self-driving cars is set to be considered on the House floor next week, once Congress returns from its summer recess. The House Energy & Commerce Committee's two top leaders applauded the announcement, putting the Self Drive Act (H.R. 3388) on a fast track that may result in a long-term impact on broadcast radio.

As students across North America head back to school (if they haven't done so already) and many of the radio industry's leaders travel to Austin, Texas for the 2017 Radio Show, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will be heading to the Lone Star State to see first-hand what wrath Hurricane Harvey brought upon broadcast media in its path.

A Notice of Unlicensed Operation (NUO) was sent by the FCC's Enforcement Bureau to a Baptist temple in the 49th state of the union that's been involved in the community since 1956. Agents from the FCC's Los Angeles and San Francisco offices investigated.  RBR+TVBR spoke with an individual connected to the unlicensed signal, and we’ve got an update on the situation.

That's the question being asked by Roslyn Layton, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. In a column published today, she believes a review of the stories focused on the Ajit Pai-led FCC "exposes bias and misinformation."

Communications law firm Fletcher Heald & Hildreth has taken to its Commlawblog.com website to remind broadcast media owners to mark their calendars for FCC filing deadlines for broadcasting and telecommunications. While FHH's list is not comprehensive, we are pleased to share it with you as a strong guideline for what you and your stations should be working on today.

A man in Illinois has initiated a putative class action lawsuit against Spanish Broadcasting System for something that has nothing to do with what he heard on one of its radio stations or saw on its nationally distributed Mega TV platform. Rather, Adam Bugbee claims he received unsolicited text messages to his cell phone from SBS, even though he's on a national Do Not Call registry.

The Broadcasters Foundation of America is encouraging broadcasters who have been hit by Hurricane Harvey to find out if they qualify for emergency aid by completing an emergency grant request form on the non-profit organization's website.

For featured Media Information Bureau columnist Ken Benner, there is nothing more gratifying than lending a helpful bit of encouragement, information, or suggestion to a colleague in need of assistance. On the other hand, he notes, "there is nothing more disgusting than taking advantage of your colleague by picking his pocket for simple assistance." This sets the tone for his latest commentary.

The FCC's Media Bureau late Thursday released a public notice seeking the public's input on the state of competition in the video programming delivery marketplace. Specifically, it wants to know about MVPDs, online video distributors, and broadcast TV stations. Comments are due Oct. 10, and they could be numerous.

During the July confirmation hearing for the newest FCC Commissioner, Brendan Carr spoke about the important role that tech and telecom policies can play "in creating jobs, spurring investment, and growing the economy for the benefit of all Americans." It's one of the reasons why Carr has focused his attention on policies that can promote broadband deployment, and served as the focal point of his just-completed trek to North Carolina — which included a visit to American Tower.

In a speech delivered Saturday to the Americans for Prosperity’s 2017 Defending the American Dream Summit in Richmond, FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly asserted that the FCC’s job "is to provide an environment for such innovation and investment to flourish in the communications technology sector while protecting consumers along the way." He lamented that the FCC under former chairman Tom Wheeler "deviated from this proven formula."

On a day when a total eclipse of the sun commanded the attention of Americans across the U.S., it reminded us of what could happen if a station were to suddenly go dark, due to a powerful act of Mother Nature that suddenly silences a transmitter. We ventured into the RBR+TVBR archives to provide you with a great column from Cavell, Mertz & Associates President Garrison Cavell, who reminds everyone in the C-Suite of the one thing they shouldn't forget after paying for those building repairs, equipment parts, and the replacement equipment.

On Wednesday (8/16), representatives from two key broadcast media multicultural advocacy organizations, a big D.C. law firm, a major Christian-themed broadcaster and a Black-owned broadcaster based in Alabama held court with one of the most influential individuals in Washington, D.C. That person is FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. What did they discuss? We now know.

A video of 180 seconds in length is being circulated by the NAB that's focused on a big topic of interest for those in the TV industry's collective C-Suites. What's it all about? The Next Gen TV transmission standard: ATSC 3.0.

Last week, noted Washington, D.C. attorney David Oxenford participated in a discussion about music royalties for broadcasters at the Texas Association of Broadcasters Annual Convention in Austin. Joining Oxenford on the panel were the heads of the Radio Music License Committee and the TV Music Licensing Committee. The experience prompted Oxenford to highlight some of his past blog posts and columns, so that those interested in the topic can read up on this important subject.