FCC To Hold Symposium on Radio and TV Industry – What Does it Mean for Broadcast Regulation?

By |2019-10-31T06:32:00-05:00October 31st, 2019|Legal News|

The FCC announced on Friday that it will be hosting a symposium on the state of the broadcast industry on November 21.  On that day, there will be a panel in the morning on the state of the radio industry and one in the afternoon on television.  The Public Notice released Friday lists a diverse... Continue Reading…

FCC Issues “Clarifications” of Political Broadcasting Public File Disclosure Requirements – Significantly More Disclosures to Be Required on Issue Ads

By |2019-10-21T17:25:02-05:00October 21st, 2019|Legal News|

The FCC last week released two decisions (here and here) addressing complaints from public interest groups against several TV stations alleging that the stations had not sufficiently disclosed in their online public files sufficient information about political issue advertising.  These decisions, as detailed below, will end up making life significantly more difficult for broadcasters running... Continue Reading…

Facebook Criticized for Not Censoring Candidate Ads – Even Though Congress Requires No Censorship from Broadcasters

By |2019-10-17T09:35:26-05:00October 17th, 2019|Legal News|

In recent weeks, Facebook has been criticized for adopting a policy of not censoring advertising and other content posted on its platforms by political candidates.  While Facebook apparently will review content whose veracity is challenged when posted by anyone else, it made an exception for posts by political candidates – and has received much heat... Continue Reading…

More Challenges for E-Cigs Ads – Congress and FTC Looking at Marketing Practices While States Impose Bans

By |2019-10-04T07:38:04-05:00October 4th, 2019|Legal News|

We recently wrote about some of the challenges for e-cig advertising based on Federal and state actions to restrict the sale of flavored vaping products. Even though advertising for e-cigarettes is not currently illegal at the Federal level (see our articles here and here that discuss the disclaimer that must accompany those ads and the... Continue Reading…

Reminder – FCC Political Rules Apply to Off-Year Elections for State and Local Offices

By |2019-09-20T11:15:01-05:00September 20th, 2019|Legal News|

While next year’s federal elections are already receiving most of the publicity, I’ve been getting a surprising number of calls about elections this November. While most broadcast stations don’t think about the FCC’s political broadcasting rules in odd numbered years, they should – particularly in connection with state and local political offices.  There are elections... Continue Reading…

New Concerns About Ads for E-Cigs and CBD

By |2019-09-12T10:10:33-05:00September 12th, 2019|Legal News|

We’ve written many times about the legal concerns about advertising for various vices – including e-cigs (see, for instance, our article here) and CBD (see for instance our articles here and here). The issues with these products never seem to go away, and in recent days, they have become even more pronounced. On e-cigs and... Continue Reading…

When a Broadcast Advertiser Becomes A Political Candidate, What is a Station to Do?

By |2019-08-26T22:48:35-05:00August 26th, 2019|Legal News|

In many states, we are in election season for local offices, which has resulted in a question that has come up repeatedly in the last few weeks about local candidates – usually running for state or municipal offices – who appear in advertisements for local businesses that they own or manage. Often times, these individuals... Continue Reading…

Another Warning Letter on CBD Promotional Copy – and Some Ideas on Timing of Government Clarity on Rules on Legal Hemp Products

By |2019-07-26T11:16:33-05:00July 26th, 2019|Legal News|

CBD has been a hot topic for media companies – trying to decipher what products are legal and which can be advertised. We have written a number of articles on CBD, hemp and other cannabis advertising issues (see, for instance, our articles here, here, and here). Each of these articles highlights the confusion about the... Continue Reading…

Another Warning Letter on CBD Promotional Copy – and Some Ideas on Timing of Government Clarity on Rules on Legal Hemp Products

By |2019-07-26T11:16:33-05:00July 26th, 2019|Legal News|

CBD has been a hot topic for media companies – trying to decipher what products are legal and which can be advertised. We have written a number of articles on CBD, hemp and other cannabis advertising issues (see, for instance, our articles here, here, and here). Each of these articles highlights the confusion about the... Continue Reading…

Go to Top