Washington Beat

The Ranking Member of the influential House Energy & Commerce Commission is irate over actions her Democratic colleagues have taken that she and Communications and Technology Republican Subcommittee Leader Bob Latta (R-Ohio) believe put a threat to freedom of speech, and Freedom of the Press.

The “Voices From the Field” campaign, part of NAB’s “We Are Broadcasters” initiative, is designed to spotlight how broadcasters are using their expertise, experience and dedication to local broadcasting to serve their audiences and "uplift" their communities.

On December 1, 2020, television stations located in Alabama and Georgia were required to file applications for license renewal for terms expiring on April 1, 2021.  Five stations failed to file license renewal applications.

It's been nearly five weeks since she was named Acting Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission. Now, a coalition of female Democratic House Members have formally written to the White House to get Jessica Rosenworcel formally nominated by President Biden to take the seat on a permanent basis.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has released the witness list for its fully remote hearing for February 24 that takes aim at how "disinformation and extremism" has been fueled by U.S. media. The host and anchor of Hearst Television-distributed Matter of Fact is one of the three witnesses already confirmed to appear virtually.

“We are excited to bring these popular events under the NAB Show umbrella in 2021, offering a unique experience that is both familiar and new at the most comprehensive convention of its kind,” NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith said.

FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has selected the agency's next Press Secretary. It's an individual joining the Commission’s Office of Media Relations after having served as Communications Director for then-Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small of New Mexico.

The FCC’s Online Public Inspection File server for radio and television broadcasters has been “live” for nearly three years. Much has been written about what goes in the OPIF, and when. And, the FCC provides a good summary online. Little attention has been paid, however, to what comes out of the OPIF: the co-equal obligation to remove expired material.

This week, the FCC designated for hearing the license renewal applications for a number of Alabama radio stations. Why? Who better than noted Wilkinson Barker Knauer attorney David Oxenford to explain the situation.

The Member of Congress representing Humboldt County, Calif., is irate over the second "blackout" of the CBS and NBC affiliates serving this portion of his district. Now, he plans to seek the elimination of the so-called "UHF discount" in legislation he's set to introduce. It's a new wrinkle to Rep. Jared Huffman's efforts in D.C. to end ugly retrans impasses.

Due to the various restrictions necessary to combat the pandemic, it has become difficult, if not impossible, for many parties to be able to honor the terms of their contracts. The question then becomes which party to the contract will have to bear the loss of failure to perform under the contract – the non-performing party or the party that was relying upon performance?

The distant retransmission of radio broadcast signals by cable TV systems remains available on some U.S. MVPDs. Now, the Copyright Royalty Board is seeking comment on a proposed royalty rates and terms settlement that also covers the distant retransmission of broadcast TV signals.

A group of bipartisan U.S. Senators has reintroduced legislation in the upper body of Congress designed to address "the shortage" of trained workers necessary to fill next-generation jobs in the telecommunications industry in communities throughout the country.

Key research areas include spectrum flexibility and agility, working towards near real-time spectrum awareness, and improved spectrum efficiency and effectiveness through secure and autonomous spectrum decision-making. The first key goal will be establishing the U.S.’s first National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research.

The FCC has released what it's calling the "anticipated agenda" for the next virtual meeting of its Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE). The online gathering is scheduled for February 11, and the meeting will be available to the public via the Internet.