David Oxenford, Author at Tennessee Association of Broadcasters

NAB Seeks Reconsideration of FCC’s Clarification of Issue Advertising Public Disclosure Requirements – Rules Remain in Effect Though Some Clarification Provided

By David Oxenford|2019-11-25T10:55:01-06:00November 25th, 2019|Legal News|

Last month, the FCC issued what it termed a “clarification” of the obligations of broadcasters to disclose in their public inspection files each and every candidate and issue discussed in any Federal issue ad. We wrote about the Clarification here. That decision prompted many questions among broadcasters as to how they would comply with the... Continue Reading…

Third Circuit Denies Petition for Rehearing of Decision Overturning FCC Ownership Rule Changes

By David Oxenford|2019-11-22T11:05:58-06:00November 22nd, 2019|Legal News|

In a very short decision issued on Wednesday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the FCC’s request for rehearing of the September decision of a panel of three of its judges which overturned the FCC’s 2017 decision changing many of the broadcast ownership rules (including the abolition of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules). We wrote... Continue Reading…

FCC Announces Schedule for Transition to Annual Children’s Television Reports

By David Oxenford|2019-11-20T10:38:30-06:00November 20th, 2019|Legal News|

Earlier this week, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing its plans for the initiation of new annual reporting requirements for TV stations under the revised Children’s Television Rules. As we wrote here, the FCC this summer adopted changes in the rules governing the broadcast of educational and informational programming directed to children. These changes... Continue Reading…

Extension of Comment Dates on VHF TV Reg Fees and on Incubated Stations

By David Oxenford|2019-11-20T10:36:17-06:00November 20th, 2019|Legal News|

The FCC last week announced an extension of the deadline for initial comments in its proceeding to examine the regulatory fees that are paid by VHF television stations. We wrote here about this Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which asked questions including whether VHF television stations and stations in the FCC’s incubator program should pay... Continue Reading…

USDA Issues Interim Rules for Hemp Production – How Does it Affect CBD Advertising?

By David Oxenford|2019-11-13T11:02:31-06:00November 13th, 2019|Legal News|

On October 31, the US Department of Agriculture published in the Federal Register interim rules governing the production of industrial hemp under the provisions of the 2018 Farm Act (see the USDA press release here). These rules will allow the USDA to approve state and tribal plans for the regulation of hemp production. It also... Continue Reading…

FCC To Consider All-Digital AM at its November Meeting – What Questions are Being Asked?

By David Oxenford|2019-11-11T10:20:19-06:00November 11th, 2019|Legal News|

As we noted in our list of November Regulatory dates for broadcasters, at its November 22 meeting, the FCC will be considering the adoption of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (see the draft order here) allowing AM stations to go all digital – on a voluntary basis. This Notice follows a Petition for Rulemaking which... Continue Reading…

Third Circuit Asked to Rehear Decision Overturning FCC Ownership Rule Changes – Where Do We Go from Here?

By David Oxenford|2019-11-09T23:03:48-06:00November 9th, 2019|Legal News|

In September, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit released a 2-1 decision overturning the FCC’s 2017 decision modifying many of its ownership rules (see our summary of the Court decision here, and our review of the 2017 decision here). The Court’s decision not only upset the plans of... Continue Reading…

FCC Issues Guidance for Expiring Digital Certificates for EAS Alerts Transmitted Through Internet-Based System – No Impact on Over-the-Air Broadcast Alerts

By David Oxenford|2019-11-07T10:01:13-06:00November 7th, 2019|Legal News|

Several years ago, the FCC mandated that broadcasters utilize not only the traditional over-the-air “daisy-chain” broadcast EAS alerting system where emergency alerts are passed from one station to another but also utilize an Internet-based Common Alerting Protocol (“CAP”) system where warnings can be sent directly to stations (see, for example, our articles here and here).... Continue Reading…

Comment Dates Set on FCC Proposal to Abolish Rule Prohibiting Exclusive Use of Unique Tower Sites

By David Oxenford|2019-11-06T11:06:22-06:00November 6th, 2019|Legal News|

At its October open meeting, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking looking to abolish its rule that bars a broadcast licensee from prohibiting a competitor from using a “unique” transmitter site that it controls. The rule was adopted decades ago and never used. It provides that a license renewal would not be granted... Continue Reading…

About David Oxenford