She can’t talk about taking the position. But right now, she’s very focused on Trump’s Section 230 executive order and the state of the U.S. digital divide.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City agreed with a federal judge in Connecticut who tossed the lawsuits two years ago, saying many of the claims were frivolous or filed after the statute of limitations expired. Stamford, Conn.-based WWE denied the suit’s allegations.
FCC 2020 Regulatory Fees Due Sept. 25
The FCC released a Public Notice late Friday afternoon announcing the annual regulatory fees for 2020 are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on Sept. 25, and setting out the procedures for payment.
The Justice Department plans to bring an antitrust case against Google as soon as this month, after Attorney General William Barr overruled career lawyers who said they needed more time to build a strong case against one of the world’s wealthiest, most formidable technology companies, according to five people briefed on internal department conversations.
The FCC’s order on this year’s annual regulatory fees was released by the FCC this week. The commision rejected calls to forgive broadcast regulatory fees because of the economic fallout of the pandemic, noting that only Congress could pass such relief, as the FCC is required by law to collect fees sufficient to cover the costs of its operations.
Since becoming the overseer of Voice of America in June, Michael Pack has fired subordinates, disbanded advisory boards and declined to renew the visas of foreign journalists who work under him. Political appointees frequently make personnel changes when they take on a new role. But Pack, who heads the U.S. Agency for Global Media, has offered a unique justification for his actions: He is rooting out potential spies. Now, a segment of staffers who had seethed quietly over Pack’s attempts to reshape the agencies are in open revolt over his unsupported accusations about “spies.”
Exclusives
In comments to the House, the association’s CEO Gordon Smith says the digital giants’ dominance of advertising marketplace, control of online content put radio and TV broadcasters at competitive disadvantage.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has introduced a bill, the Broadcast Diversity in Leadership Act, to promote broadcast diversity by creating the incubator program the FCC tried to introduce as part of its broadcast dereg order that was remanded by a federal appeals court. The difference is that while the FCC incubator program was radio only, Walden’s is for TV as well.
The FCC isn’t particularly alarmed by the prospect that for some TV watchers, shows like The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul and Killing Eve could be going away. On Monday, the FCC’s Media Bureau denied AMC’s request for a standstill order to preserve its current program carriage agreement with AT&T. As a result, upon the imminent expiration of the deal, AMC could go dark on AT&T platforms including DirecTV and AT&T TV Now. At the moment, that accounts for a quarter of AMC households.
Telecom giant AT&T plans to push for changes to a federal law that protects companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter from liability for users’ posts. “There is no longer any reason that the nation’s most powerful online platforms should enjoy legal immunities unavailable to similarly-situated traditional companies,” AT&T EVP Joan Marsh said Monday in a blog post.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of journalists at Voice of America is protesting moves made by the U.S.-funded outlet’s new chief that they say are endangering their colleagues and the […]
Joe Simons has come under White House pressure for resisting the president’s fight against alleged political bias in social media.
September Regulatory Dates For Broadcasters
As in any year, as summer ends, regulatory activity picks up — and this year appears to be no different. Each year, in September, regulatory fees are due, as the FCC is required to collect them before the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year. We expect that the final amount of those fees, and the deadlines and procedures for payment, should be announced any day.
Sinclair Broadcast Group has promoted Phillip Gharabegian to deputy general counsel and SVP business affairs for the company’s regional sports networks (RSNs). In his new role, he will continue to […]
The FCC’s Media Bureau has approved the sale of KLJB Davenport, Iowa; KMSS Shreveport, La.; and KPEJ Odessa, Texas, from Marshall Broadcasting to Mission Broadcasting, saying the sale — out of bankruptcy — is in the public interest.
Cable operators are telling the FCC that retrans regulations should apply to carriage negotiations that include ancillary “broadcast internet” services. That came in comments by NCTA-The Internet & Television Association on the FCC’s inquiry into what, if any, rules need to be changed to accommodate broadcaster’s potential new multichannel services using the ATSC 3.0 transmission standard.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway announced Sunday evening she will leave her post at the end of the month while her husband, George Conway, said he was withdrawing from The Lincoln Project, both citing a need to focus on their family. “I will be transitioning from the White House at the end of this month. George is also making changes,” Kellyanne Conway said in a statement.
Full House actor Lori Loughlin must serve two months in prison and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, must serve five months for paying half a million dollars in bribes to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as rowing recruits, a federal judge ruled Friday.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has told a member of the House that the agency is generally not in the business of dictating what viewers can and can’t see. Pai was responding to a letter from Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), who was concerned about a TV show, La Comay, airing on Mega TV in Puerto Rico and containing what she called “a pattern of xenophobic and racist remarks.”
The administration said in a high-court filing Thursday that Trump’s @realdonaldtrump account with more than 85 million followers is his personal property and blocking people from it is akin to elected officials who refuse to allow their opponents’ yard signs on their front lawns.
Hubbard Broadcasting has sued Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram, accusing the social media giants of trademark infringement and unfair competition that could lead to “irreparable harm” unless the court stops them. The suit claims that Instagram’s new video file-sharing service, Reels, infringes on and dilutes the trademark of Hubbard’s long-established REELZ digital cable and satellite TV network, which reaches more than 50 million U.S. homes.
The FCC has extended the deadline for C-Band earth station licensees to submit their lump sum election notices from Aug. 31 until Sept. 14..
Full House star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli will be sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to participating in the college admissions cheating scheme that has laid bare the lengths to which some wealthy parents will go to get their kids into elite universities.
The American Television Alliance wants the FCC to require broadcasters using the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast transmission standard to deliver an HD version of their primary broadcast signal before using any of its spectrum for ancillary or supplementary services. That came in comments to the FCC as it decides on the framework for “Promoting Broadcast Internet Innovation Through ATSC 3.0.”
Just over two weeks after Rebel Entertainment Partners filed a $5 million breach of contract complaint against former Manhattan family court judge Judy Sheindlin and a collection of CBS entities, the small screen judicial heavyweight has instigated a big bucks counteroffensive. That salvo is a more than $22 million declaratory relief, unlawful/unfair business practices and unjust enrichment lawsuit, to be precise.
