Washington Beat

Speaking at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit, the Democratic FCC Commissioner urged business leaders to speak up against government intimidation and censorship as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives come to an end under White House pressure.

State broadcasters associations representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have adopted two resolutions designed to protect local radio from new royalty payments and to ensure broadcast stations remain easily accessible from the in-dash entertainment system of all U.S. vehicles.

The FCC on Thursday announced that it is taking an initial set of actions that the Republican majority on the Commission believes will help accelerate the transition from aging copper lines to modern network infrastructure in communities all across the country.

He was most recently the Chief of Staff for FCC Commissioner Nate Simington. Now, he's in a role that makes him a key White House thought leader advising the president on information, telecommunications, and related technology policy.

Maintaining and extending "U.S. leadership in wireless" has been one of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's top priorities. "Getting our spectrum policies right translates directly into bringing Americans across the digital divide, creating jobs, and growing our economy," he says. That's why he wants spectrum auction reauthorization now.

The owner of an FM translator serving the Mississippi city of Canton has entered into a  Consent Decree with the FCC that resolves a matter in which it faced a fine for being late with its respective license renewal applications.

The Audio Division is seeking public comment on a plan it has drafted that would amend the Table of Allotments in a small Texas town. Why? An existing vacant Class C2 FM there is not in compliance with the minimum distance separation requirements of the FCC.

Dick Blumenthal has asked the FCC's Acting Bureau Chief of the Enforcement Bureau and its Acting Bureau Chief of the Media Bureau to provide more details about what he calls the Commission’s recent “unprecedented, intrusive investigations against media broadcasters under arbitrary and capricious pretenses.”

She was the first woman to serve as Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and an "enthusiastic and effective supporter" of public media. Now, House Members and New Yorkers are paying tribute to former Congresswoman Nita Lowey, who has died.

The Council is designed, in the FCC's words, to "leverage the full range of the Commission’s regulatory, investigatory, and enforcement authorities to promote America’s national security and counter foreign adversaries, particularly the threats posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP)."

The FCC has moved ahead with two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking that will effectively unwind an effort from Gray Media to shift a pair of its television stations from VHF signals to UHF channels, as the company has run out of time to do it.

"Brendan Carr, stop that CAR!" That's pretty much the message the NAB's legal team is sending the FCC with respect to its consideration of a news distortion complaint from a group that has vociferously attacked CBS for offering viewers two different answers to the same question posed to former VP Harris.

NAB Chief Technology Officer Sam Metheny recently wrote of the “fragility” of the satellite-based GPS system, one that Diamond Consulting principal Patrick Diamond says has no backup. One possible solution is the NAB's own Broadcast Positioning System. The March FCC Open Meeting could see a discussion on it.

Would MVPDs and voices of the cable television industry protest a NAB petition with the FCC requesting mandated transition dates for TV stations to adopt ATSC 3.0 broadcast signals? Perhaps. If so, the Consumer Technology Association, which had fought against the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, has their back.

The Associate General Counsel in the House of Representatives' Office of General Counsel has just been named the Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission.