Washington Beat

What the Chairman say to the former Senator? It's not a joke, with no punchline necessary. The Chairman of the FCC Chairman and the National Association of Broadcasters' President/CEO — former Oregon Senator Gordon Smith — will participate in a 2020 NAB Show keynote conversation at 9am Pacific on Monday, April 20.

"All kidding aside, it might seem a bit unusual to hear from a self-admitted conservative Republican on your issues," FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said toward the beginning of an address delivered Tuesday morning at America's Public Television Stations' 2020 Public Media Summit. We've got all of the details on what O'Rielly told attendees.

While the retiring Greg Walden may today be radio's best friend in D.C. politics, thanks to his former ownership of Hood River, Ore., stations, a Minnesota Republican -- teaming with a Pennsylvania Democrat -- has just made a major move that positions him as perhaps the new leading buddy for radio and TV on Capitol Hill.

Long before Media Information Bureau featured columnist Ken Benner got involved with the ABIP programs, he used his time off from his full-time job to visit radio stations in the Upper Midwest to conduct the then-FCC required annual proof of performance measurements. It was during these tours that Benner first learned of how some FCC regulations, in his view, were distorted for "extortion." Yikes!

ACA Connects, which represents the interests of small and independently owned MVPDs on Capitol Hill, has brought on a veteran communications attorney to serve as its VP of Regulatory Affairs.

The NAB is now offering radio and TV stations a print and online resource to give their news coverage of the 2020 presidential, congressional and local elections a little extra boost.

The FCC recently released a list of its accomplishments under Chairman Pai. It includes over 220 items adopted in 36 meetings, more than twice the number adopted by the prior administration over a similar period, notes AEI Visiting Scholar Roslyn Layton. As there is "scant coverage of these successes" in the media, Roslyn believes, she's provided some key accomplishments for readers.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has appointed members to serve on three working groups of the Commission's Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE). These working groups—Access to Capital, Digital Empowerment and Inclusion, and Diversity in the Tech Sector—will assist the ACDDE in carrying out its work.

KidVid, ATSC 3.0, and other issues facing the FCC that pertain to broadcast television will be the focal point of an address to be delivered by Republican FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly at the February 25 APTS Public Media Summit in Washington, D.C.

RBR+TVBR on Friday was first to report what FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks has called the “striking … but not surprising” results of the just-released Fourth Report on Ownership of Broadcast Stations from the Media Bureau. Indeed, broadcast media ownership among women and minorities is lagging. The MMTC has now chimed in on the findings.

"Striking ... but not surprising." That, in a nutshell, sums up how FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks feels about the results of the just-released Fourth Report on Ownership of Broadcast Stations from the Media Bureau.

Reps. Anna Eshoo and Mike Doyle want Ajit Pai to enforce FCC rules that clearly identify Russian propaganda airing on U.S. radio stations. Eshoo has been on a quest to squelch what she views is programming and viewpoints airing on "Sputnik Radio," a Kremlin-funded English-language operation with 24/7 coverage in Washington, D.C., and six hours of programming in Kansas City.

The senior Democrat on the FCC has been selected as a keynote speaker at the ACA Connects 27th Annual Summit in Washington, D.C. The event is set for March 18.

With T-Mobile now on target to complete its merger with Sprint by April 1, putting DISH in the driver's seat on becoming the nation's fourth-largest wireless services company, tower companies are likely to benefit from the rollout of 5G spurred by the companies' moves. As such, American Tower shares lifted by more than 4% on Tuesday.

In mid-January, a silent AM radio station licensed for 10kw of power from 1 tower received what appeared to be nothing short of its death sentence from the Media Bureau and the FCC’s Office of the Managing Director. Guess what? The licensee has successfully fought the FCC -- and won. As such, the station has a new lease on life.