Political Broadcasting Rules Q&A

By |2018-02-27T12:14:01-06:00February 27th, 2018|Legal News|

With primaries in some states happening as soon as March, the 2018 election cycle is certain to be contentious and hard-fought. Now is the time for broadcasters to review their systems to ensure that they will be in compliance with the FCC’s political advertising requirements. Now that all broadcast stations are required to place political...… Continue Reading

The First EEO Audit of 2018 With a New Wrinkle – Notifications by Email and Responses Submitted Through the Online Public File

By |2018-02-27T10:03:39-06:00February 27th, 2018|Legal News|

On Friday, the FCC issued a Public Notice announcing its first EEO audit of 2018. The Notice lists the almost 300 radio and television stations that will be subject to the review as well as the rules that apply to that audit. And those rules are somewhat new.  First, the notice itself was not sent...… Continue Reading

March Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Including Online Public File for Radio and Biennial Ownership Reports, Effective Date of ATSC 3.0, Comments on TV National Ownership and Media Modernization, and GMR Extension

By |2018-02-26T10:58:58-06:00February 26th, 2018|Legal News|

March is one of those months where without the Annual EEO Public File Reports that come up for different states every other month, or without the Quarterly Issues Programs List and Children’s Television Report obligations that arise following the end of every calendar quarter. But this March has two very significant deadlines right at the...… Continue Reading

Another Media Regulation Modernization Proposal – Abandon the Form 397 EEO Mid-Term Report (Though Maintain the EEO Performance Review)

By |2018-02-23T10:57:54-06:00February 23rd, 2018|Legal News|

At its meeting yesterday, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking suggesting the abolition of the EEO Mid-Term Report, FCC Form 397. That form is filed at the mid-point of the renewal term of TV stations with 5 or more full-time employees and radio clusters with 11 or more full-time employees (see our post...… Continue Reading

Above 95 – FCC Hits the Stratosphere

By |2018-02-22T14:44:39-06:00February 22nd, 2018|Legal News|

The FCC voted today to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order looking toward issuing licenses for frequencies above 95 GHz. That’s GigaHertz, not MegaHertz – way up there, beyond the highest frequencies that are commonly used today, at least by the private sector. Historically, frequencies this high were not considered useful for communication...… Continue Reading

FCC Officially Publishes Net Neutrality Rollback Rule; Will Take Effect on April 23

By |2018-02-22T12:55:20-06:00February 22nd, 2018|Legal News|

Well, it’s official: the Open Internet rule, better known as Net Neutrality, will go bye-bye starting April 23. Today, the hotly debated final notice of the Open Internet Rule (better known as Net Neutrality) was published in the Federal Register. Net neutrality goes away as of April 23 except for certain provisions that require review...… Continue Reading

FCC Officially Publishes Net Neutrality Rollback Rule; Will Take Effect on April 23

By |2018-02-22T12:55:20-06:00February 22nd, 2018|Legal News|

Well, it’s official: the Open Internet rule, better known as Net Neutrality, will go bye-bye starting April 23. Today, the hotly debated final notice of the Open Internet Rule (better known as Net Neutrality) was published in the Federal Register. Net neutrality goes away as of April 23 except for certain provisions that require review...… Continue Reading

Court Finds That Embedded Twitter Photo on Website May Subject Website Owner to Copyright Liability – Be Careful What You Post

By |2018-02-22T10:50:37-06:00February 22nd, 2018|Legal News|

Last week, a US District Court Judge in the influential Southern District of New York issued an opinion finding that the fact that a picture of New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady that was displayed on the websites of a number of media defendants was potentially infringing – even though the photo was not copied...… Continue Reading

Starting Small on Media Regulation Modernization – Rule Requiring Hard Copy of FCC Rules Repealed

By |2018-02-21T10:55:40-06:00February 21st, 2018|Legal News|

One of the first proposals in Chairman Pai’s initiative for the modernization of media regulation (see our post here from when the Chairman announced the initiative) was to repeal an FCC rule that many did not even know was a rule – one requiring that broadcasters who have secondary licenses maintain a paper copy of...… Continue Reading

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