Regulation

Still regaining his strength (he lost 12 pounds during the ordeal) and with a slight cough and what he calls a “shipwreck survivor” beard, the former FCC commissioner details his harrowing medical journey.

Donald Trump’s campaign sued the Wausau-Rhinelander, Wis., CBS affiliate on Monday after it continued to air an ad from a pro-Joe Biden super PAC that attacks the President’s response to the coronavirus crisis. The spot features a graph mapping coronavirus cases in the U.S. over the past two months, with audio of comments Trump has made downplaying the threat of the virus.

Broadcasters are giving new meaning to the phrase “dynamic spectrum access” in arguing that an FCC proposal to free up WiFi spectrum in the 6 GHz band could take away electronic newsgathering spectrum just when a pandemic-sequestered nation needs it most. That came in phone calls last week between National Association of Broadcasting executives and FCC officials.

A federal judge says there’s “sufficient good cause” to hear plaintiff Eko’s request for an injection on May 4 instead of June 29.

A federal judge ruled this week that MGM must release unaired footage from The Celebrity Apprentice to entrepreneurs who claim they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars after President Trump and his children endorsed a multilevel marketing company on the reality show prior to the president’s election.

The college, in Lynchburg, Virginia, is led by Jerry Falwell Jr., has filed criminal trespassing against journalists from ProPublica and the New York Times for stories on the school’s remaining partially open. Falwell said the university is conducting classes online and obeying social distancing directives.

The longtime force in telecommunications regulation and policy was involved in the banning of cigarette advertising on broadcasting, the regulation of cable and rules prohibiting broadcasters from discriminating in employment on the basis of race. He was 96.

Unaired footage from Donald Trump‘s Celebrity Apprentice should be handed over to entrepreneurs who claim they were ripped off when Trump and his children repeatedly endorsed a troubled multilevel marketing company on the reality-TV show, a judge said.

The commission is allowing stations to preempt educational and informational children’s programming for religious programming without having to reschedule it, but only over the next three weeks.  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai signaled such preemption for religious services would also be a public service.

The FCC released its tentative agenda for its April 23 open meeting. For TV broadcasters, that meeting will include consideration of the adoption of a rulemaking looking to broaden obligations for the audio description of television programming.

Two former senior executives at Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox have been indicted over their alleged role in a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving kickbacks to FIFA officials in exchange for broadcast and marketing rights to some of the world’s biggest football tournaments.

The FCC Chairman praises their response to the coronavirus pandemic, including providing social distancing PSAs, educational programming, and community fundraisers.

The FCC — in this case comprising the chairman, the general counsel and the Media Bureau chief — has flatly, and strongly, rejected a petition by Free Press seeking a government investigation into broadcasters who aired statements by the President Trump during coronavirus briefings and “related commentary,” arguing that the investigation would itself curtail a free press.

President Donald Trump has ordered the review and possible revocation of the applications for, or sales of, FCC licenses, but it has nothing to do with the President’s view of media outlets or his legal team’s threats against TV station owners. Trump issued an executive order Saturday (April 4) establishing the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector.

Fox News is facing intense scrutiny for its initial coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and a lawsuit filed in Washington is asking a state court to bar the network from sharing false information about the pandemic. The top-rated network was sued Thursday by the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics.

The Supreme Court on Friday said it would postpone oral arguments scheduled for its April session amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Two top Democrats in Congress on Thursday asked FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to reassure broadcasters the agency will not revoke their licenses for airing advertisements critical of President Donald Trump.

The FCC is proposing to require 40 more markets (DMAs 61-100) to provide audio descriptions of video programming but also wants to know if the current pandemic changes any part of the equation. Per the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA), FCC rules currently require certain stations in the top 60 markets to provide that service to the blind and visually impaired.

The FCC voted unanimously to adopt a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on a proposal to allow broadcasters greater flexibility in using distributed transmission systems (DTS) to deliver new ATSC 3.0 signals. The FCC said, and broadcasters agree, that allowing that flexibility with the new advanced TV broadcast standard will get those signals to hard-to-reach viewers, improve indoor reception and be more efficient with the spectrum, a big priority for the FCC.

Friday afternoon, the FCC released a Public Notice announcing an extension of broadcasters’ deadlines for certain filings in light of the disruptions being caused by the coronavirus epidemic.

The coronavirus bill specifies that CPB spend the funds to maintain programming and services and to preserve small and rural stations.