Washington Beat

The NAB Leadership Foundation brought some of Capitol Hill’s most prominent AM radio compatriots to the stage Tuesday night as it hosted the 2026 Celebration of Service to America Awards, honoring broadcasters for superlative community service.

The FCC has shared details of a June 5 meeting that saw NAB Associate General Counsel for Legal and Regulatory Affairs Larry Walke joined by two colleagues in discussions about ways to further revitalize AM Radio with key Media Bureau policymakers.

The House Appropriations Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies on Tuesday proposed zero funding for local public broadcasting stations in its fiscal year 2027 appropriations bills. To say the least, the President/CEO of America's Public Television Stations is "deeply disappointed."

The owner of a Class A FM radio station serving a small Texas city where U.S. Highways 83, 62 and 70 converge could be stripped of its license, due to overdue regulatory fees owed to the FCC. The licensee simply needs to pay $2,856.43 to the Commission to resolve the matter.

The AEI's Clay Calvert uses the findings of a recent Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression poll to as a fundamental question regarding the 2026 midterm elections this November: Could antipathy toward jawboning and lack of trust in Trump to safeguard free speech affect the midterm elections?

Days after the FCC's Media Bureau warned broadcasters that no licensee holds a right to the public spectrum, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute is arguing that the regulatory framework underlying that notice is technically obsolete and constitutionally indefensible.

Merkhet Solutions CEO Sam Matheny testified on June 4 before the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee at a hearing titled "Where Are We?: Examining Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Capabilities in the United States." The purpose of the longtime NAB executive? To promote the proposed Broadcast Positioning System.

Artificial Intelligence is seen by many in radio and TV as a threat to their job security, while consumers are fretting over trust. Now, AI could bring another worry to radio and TV broadcasters, FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty has shared. 

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies and the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee has once again declined to include what APTS considers "essential" federal funding for facilities across the U.S. in its FY 2027 proposed legislation.

The Media Bureau has entered into a Consent Decree with SDK, which is purchasing a pair of noncommercial FM translators from a Hispanic evangelical broadcast ministry. This paves the way for the FM translators' respective license renewals. To accomplish this, a sizable "voluntary contribution" to the U.S. Treasury is being made.

The first FCC spectrum auction in four years has commenced, and it will over some 200 5G-grade spectrum licenses that "laid fallow for more than a decade." The license areas included in the action include 48 states, two U.S. territories and major markets including New York, Chicago, Boston, Tampa-St. Petersburg and Charlotte.

How serious is the NAB's effort to bring its Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) to fruition, and get it deployed as a solid alternative or even an ultimate replacement for GPS technology? An independent company focused on BPS's commercial deployment has come to be.

The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology is welcoming a new Associate Chief and Chief of the Laboratory Division. It is an individual who brings more than 20 years of leadership experience spanning engineering, operations, customer service, research, and equipment‑build and compliance roles across media providers.

A Congressional effort to protect intellectual property rights in the voice and visual likeness of individuals, and for other purposes, has commenced. This sees Senators weighing the pros and cons of a bill introduced on May 20 that would axe "deep fakes" while protecting entertainers and air personalities alike.

A comment period has been established that will guide the Media Bureau in determining whether or not to renew the licenses for the company that operated the now-defunct NewsNet — bankrolled by the man who invented 5-Hour Energy.