Washington Beat

Is the FCC's Online Public Inspection File a #Fail? In the eyes of the NAB's three top legal team members, it very well may be. And, they've shared their thoughts with individuals in the offices of the agency's two Republican Commissioners and with staff in the offices of Democrats Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gómez.

A draft proposal that would look into whether the FCC should require disclosure when there is AI-generated content in political ads is getting the thumbs down from FEC Chairman Sean Cooksey, who believes the yet-to-be-introduced NPRM directly infringes on exclusive FEC jurisdiction.

From April 2021 through August 2022, she was a Partner at the same Washington, D.C., law firm that's home to David Oxenford and Davina Sashkin. Now, she's rejoining Wilkinson Barker Knauer (WBK) as a Partner in the 1800 M Street, N.W., office.

Chris Devine's GeoBroadcast Solutions has revealed who the first wave of broadcasters are who have filed applications with the FCC seeking its regulatory approval to begin program origination on a limited basis from an FM booster — the lynch-pin to its "ZoneCasting" radio product.

Augustana College had a mutually exclusive application to build a noncommercial FM with another entity, and the FCC selected that other applicant. The school sought reconsideration of the grant. That effort fell flat with the Audio Division chief within the FCC's Media Bureau.

All 50 state broadcasters associations, plus those representing the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have signed a letter sent a letter to the Speaker of the House and Congressional leaders in the House and Senate in support of H.R. 8072 and S. 4158, the "Broadcast VOICES Act."

Noncommercial stations in Alaska, Alabama and Texas have become the latest to receive funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to upgrade their equipment to provide enhanced emergency alerting. The grants are awarded by CPB through the Next Generation Warning System NWGS grant program.

Beginning August 20, all Class A television, LPTV, and TV translator stations will be permitted to file major change applications in order to change their existing channel, subject to certain limitations. As the Media Bureau calls it, it is a "first-come, first-serve channel change opportunity."

"After careful consideration," Mission Broadcasting has terminated its agreement to acquire a Detroit TV station from Adell Broadcasting for $75 million. The President of the company chaired by the widow of founder David Smith offered comments as to why the deal did not go forward.

The newest Commissioner on the FCC, and the first to issue official statements in both English and in Spanish, has agreed to deliver a Keynote address at the 2024 Hispanic Radio Conference, scheduled for June 12-13 in San Antonio.

A TV translator licensed to Wichita Falls, Tex., that brings programming to the city from North Texas' primary PBS Member station could be on the hook for a FCC forfeiture for failing to timely file its license to cover application.

Introducing H.R. 8449, a marked up version of the "AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act," which as of last Friday had 251 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. The new bill, which the NAB appreciates, will be up for discussion Thursday at a House Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee hearing.

The FCC on Monday opened up a pair of dockets that are designed to update the Commission's rules as it pertains to low-power television stations. One of the two dockets also impacts TV translator and Class A TV stations.

The National Religious Broadcasters and American Family Association have come together to file a petition in a New Orleans federal appeals court against the FCC for what they believe is the unlawful requirement of broadcast TV and radio stations to publicly report employee race, ethnicity, and gender.

The program, scheduled for mid-June, will focus on new opportunities for broadcasting utilizing ATSC 3.0, the next-generation broadcast standard that is now available to viewers with devices capable of receiving NEXTGEN TV signals in 75 markets across the U.S.