David Oxenford, Author at Tennessee Association of Broadcasters

Facebook Not Fact-Checking Candidate Ads – Looking at the Contrast Between Online Political Ads and Those Running on Broadcast and Cable

By David Oxenford|2020-01-13T11:02:42-06:00January 13th, 2020|Legal News|

This weekend, the New York Times ran an article seemingly critical of Facebook for not rejecting ads from political candidates that contained false statements of fact. We have already written that this policy of Facebook matches the policy that Congress has imposed on broadcast stations and local cable franchisees who sell time to political candidates... Continue Reading…

PIRATE Act Passes Senate, and Now on to the President for Signature – Provides for Big Fines and Enforcement Sweeps in Big Markets

By David Oxenford|2020-01-10T10:53:12-06:00January 10th, 2020|Legal News|

The PIRATE Act, to crack down on pirate radio, passed the Senate this week after having passed in the House of Representatives last year. It now goes to the President for signature. We’ve written about this legislation several times before (see for instance, our articles here and here). In this final version, it provides more... Continue Reading…

A Broadcaster’s 2020 Regulatory Calendar – Looking at Some of the Important Dates for the Year Ahead

By David Oxenford|2020-01-09T08:23:47-06:00January 9th, 2020|Legal News|

Here we are, more than a week into the New Year, and already we’ve written about a host of regulatory issues that will be facing broadcasters in the first month of the year (see for instance our articles here and here). But what about the rest of the year? As we do most years, we’ve... Continue Reading…

University Pays $76,000 Fine to Settle Complaint About Underwriting Announcements on Noncommercial Station that Went Too Far

By David Oxenford|2020-01-08T11:25:40-06:00January 8th, 2020|Legal News|

Every noncommercial station, including LPFMs, that accepts underwriting announcements should be concerned about making sure that the announcements meet FCC guidelines and remain truly non-controversial. An FCC Order was released yesterday announcing a consent decree entered into between the University of Arkansas and the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau. The Order illustrates what can happen if noncommercial... Continue Reading…

Comments Due March 9 on FCC Proposal to Allow All-Digital AM Stations

By David Oxenford|2020-01-07T09:50:42-06:00January 7th, 2020|Legal News|

The FCC’s proposal to allow AM stations to voluntarily transition into all-digital operations (see our post here for a summary of the FCC’s proposal) was published in the Federal Register today. That sets the comment deadlines in this proceeding – with initial comments due March 9, 2020 and reply comments due by April 6. AM... Continue Reading…

While You Were on Vacation….Looking at FCC Regulatory Actions over the Holidays and Deadlines for January

By David Oxenford|2020-01-06T10:45:49-06:00January 6th, 2020|Legal News|

While many of us were trying to enjoy the holidays, the world of regulation kept right on moving, seemingly never taking time off. So we thought that we ought to highlight some of the actions taken by the FCC in the last couple weeks and to also remind you of some of the upcoming January... Continue Reading…

January 22 Deadline for Comments on FCC Proposal to Change Rule Prohibiting Duplication of Radio Programming

By David Oxenford|2020-01-03T10:33:00-06:00January 3rd, 2020|Legal News|

The FCC recently proposed modifying its rules prohibiting a radio station in one service (either AM or FM) from duplicating more than 25% of the weekly programming of another station in the same service if there is more than 50% overlap of the principal community contour of either of the stations. The FCC this week... Continue Reading…

FCC Postpones Filing Deadline for First Annual Children’s Television Programming Report and Announces Effectiveness of Other Changes in Children’s Television Rules

By David Oxenford|2019-12-29T22:23:54-06:00December 29th, 2019|Legal News|

The FCC gave a present to TV broadcasters at the end of the week before Christmas by issuing a Public Notice announcing the effective date of the remaining changes to the children’s television rules, and postponing the filing date for the initial Children’s Television Programming Report, which was to be filed by January 30, to... Continue Reading…

FCC Reinstates 2016 Ownership Order and Gives Instructions for Sale and Renewal Applications in Light of Third Circuit Decision Overturning Rule Changes

By David Oxenford|2019-12-23T10:03:31-06:00December 23rd, 2019|Legal News|

Late Friday, the FCC issued an Order reinstating the FCC’s 2016 ownership rules, recognizing that the changes made in those rules in 2017 (see our post here) were no longer effective because the Third Circuit Court of Appeals had thrown out the 2017 decision. See our post here on the Third Circuit decision and our... Continue Reading…

About David Oxenford