Washington Beat

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is welcoming two new staffers to the Office of the Chairman. One comes from the R Street Institute, described as "a free-market think tank," while the other is a longtime Spectrum Enforcement Division staffer.

There were no new transactions posted at the FCC on Monday (3/6), and it's been relatively quiet overall -- aside from Entercom's blockbuster tax-free merger with CBS Radio, which was months in the works. Are we in the midst of the calm before the storm of sales and tornado of transactions strikes the U.S.?

Sue Wilson, founder of the non-profit advocacy group Media Action Center, shared with RBR + TVBR details of a settlement with Entercom that awaits final approval from a FCC Administrative Law Judge in Washington. Meanwhile, there's word Ed Stolz is seeking to "un-renew" the licenses for Entercom's remaining Sacramento stations -- even after it make the unprecedented move of surrendering the license for now-defunct KDND-FM.

According to a widely distributed Tweet from Morning Consult technology reporter Amir Nasr, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had a 3pm meeting Monday (3/6) with President Trump. What was part of the discussion could have been the pending end of "net neutrality."

Does the First Amendment care who won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8, 2016? Erwin G. Krasnow, the co-chair of the Communications Group of Washington, D.C. law firm Garvey Schubert Barer, tackles this question in a column that delves into fairness, and the First Amendment, and where broadcasters are under a Trump presidency.

With the support of "hundreds" of residents, La Plata County got its wish, as four Denver-market stations can now modify the local satellite carriage TV markets they serve and add this far-southwest slice of Colorado to its coverage area. The FCC made the move despite objections from Hubbard and Hearst.

A full-power UHF station serving Sin City has been handed a possible $7,000 by the FCC for apparent sins tied to its electronic public file, the "e-pif."

Here's what one top D.C. attorney thinks

A R&O allowing it is on the FCC's Open Meeting agenda; Raycom head talks up ATSC 3.0 at Thursday Senate hearing on NAB's behalf

This column from two noted D.C. attorneys provides a road map for taking advantage of the current regulatory climate

Senator believes Congress "can — and should — do to help protect the integrity and independence of the media"

Australian citizens living in Alaska for more than a decade can now hold 100% ownership of 29 AM or FM radio stations

Comments on an NPRM alowing permissive use of the "Next Generation" broadcast TV standard, ATSC 3.0, is a go

The siting rule for an FM fill-in translator rebroadcasting an AM broadcast station has been relaxed by the Commission