Washington Beat

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council on Monday filed comments with the FCC supporting the creation of a broadcast incubator program. MMTC has been trying to persuade the FCC to create such a program since 1990, and these comments contain the history of the program, and describe how the program would work.

A New York City resident may have to fork over upward of $400,000 for his unauthorized operation of a radio transmitter on frequencies that the FCC has licensed to the New York Police Department, causing interference with the NYPD radio system while threatening officers. That's the maximum penalty the FCC can hand out, and this individual is currently in police custody for related charges.

In a press briefing held Thursday afternoon, the final results of the FCC's first-of-its-kind incentive auction were officially shared with the public. Were T-Mobile and Comcast the big spectrum auction winners? We have the answer, and additional insight from three key senior FCC staff members. We can also tell you that a Chicago UHF is getting more than $300 million for its participation in the auction.

The current Bureau Chief for the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) has decided to return to the private sector. As a result, a Jenner & Block attorney has been singled out by Chairman Ajit Pai as her replacement.

Stewart, who joined the FCC in 1965 and spent 44 years at the Commission — most notably as Chief and Senior Deputy Bureau Chief of the former Mass Media Bureau — died Monday (4/10) after a brief illness. The native of Brooklyn, N.Y., was 78 and lived in Northern Virginia.

A TEGNA Media TV station in Atlanta and a Graham Media Group VHFer in Detroit have been honored with two top honors by the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF). Cox Media Group's WEDR "99 Jamz" in Miami is also getting a NABEF Service to America Award -- and is the lone commercially licensed FM getting such an honor.

If you don't think the FCC is serious about the placement of required public file documents in a radio or TV station's electronic public file, think again. A multicultural TV station in one of the nation's biggest markets could be held liable for a $20,000 forfeiture from the FCC.

Thanks to the efforts of music rights coalition musicFIRST, the NAB is at war with groups such as the RIAA on Capitol Hill over any new fees or royalty payments for the airplay of recorded music on the nation's AM and FM stations. Why is musicFIRST pushing so hard in the early months of the Trump Administration? Here's the NAB's take on that.

The Copyright Royalty Judges today published final regulations that set "continued, unaltered rates and terms for subpart A configurations subject to the statutory license to use nondramatic musical works to make and distribute phonorecords of those works (the Mechanical License)."

In an exclusive interview with RBR + TVBR, Rep. Ted Deutch explains why he has emerged as a key member of Congress on the issue of performance rights and radio's "fair share" — something many industry leaders have assailed as a "tax on radio."

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC)'s President/CEO, Kim Keenan, has been selected as a member of the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC).

This moving party probably didn't feature a large pie from Pizza Paradiso and cold bottles of Yuengling beer. On Tuesday, top figures at the NAB met with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, his Chief of Staff, and his Acting Media Advisor to discuss the concerns of radio and TV companies surrounding the repack of TV stations following the close of the broadcast spectrum incentive auction.

For the last decade, musicFIRST has made it its mission to establish itself as the No. 1 advocate for artists’ rights. These efforts have been stepped up in a big way since the arrival in January of Chris Israel. Who is he, and why is he leading a push on Capitol Hill that has captured the attention -- and support -- of such House members as Darrell Issa, Marsha Blackburn and Ted Deutch? This RBR + TVBR INFOCUS pieces reviews Israel's rise, and that of musicFIRST.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai placed a stake in the ground on Wednesday (4/5), committing himself to fix the lack of economics at the agency. Speaking at the Hudson Institute, Pai announced that he is forming the Office of Economics and Data (OED) at the FCC. In the eyes of Mark Jamison, this is a good first step.

There's a battle brewing on Capitol Hill, and the NAB is doing its part to get more support of the "Local Radio Freedom Act" by putting its message directly in the hands of Legislative Aides and Legislative Correspondent -- and, quite possibly, a member of Congress.