Regulation

NEW YORK (AP) — A civil rights activist is suing Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, claiming she defamed him while discussing a lawsuit against the Black Lives Matter movement that […]

The FCC’s Media Bureau has levied a $20,000 fine for a licensee operating a five-station cluster in South Carolina that allegedly did not keep good EEO records and, when subject to a random EEO audit, was unable to identify any recruitment sources for other than word-of-mouth recruiting for six of 11 hires over a two-year period.

Democrats are trying to pressure the at the 11th hour to call off its planned Thursday vote to scrap its net neutrality regulations. Today, 39 senators sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai urging him to call off his “reckless” proposal to eliminate the Obama-era regulations.

Sen. Claire McCaskill has written FCC Chairman Ajit Pai voicing concerns about the “negative impact” on the St. Louis media market from the proposed merger of Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media. “If the Sinclair-Tribune transaction is approved as proposed it would leave three stations in the hands of one company, including two of the top four stations in the market,” she wrote.

Here’s a situation at the FCC worth watching as we could see similar requests down the line. Entravision has asked the agency to modify the TV market of WJAL after receiving $25.5 mlllion in the incentive auction to vacate the station’s original channel allocation in Hagerstown, Md.

While most of the principles governing the FCC rules on political broadcasting are relatively established, new advertising practices and opportunities always raise questions as to how those established rules are to be applied. Programmatic buying of ad time is one of those areas where these questions have arisen in recent years. In the last few years, programmatic buying has become the buzzword in broadcast ad circles. Here are some answers.

The Federal Trade Commission and the FCC announced an agreement on Monday to coordinate their efforts to police the internet once the latter agency has repealed its net neutrality rules set for a vote on Thursday..

The duopoly, the FCC and the hunger for scale — these three forces are roiling the news industry, from corporate conglomerates to your hometown daily.

In a tweet Sunday, President Trump blasted the lack of attention over what he described as “false and defamatory stories” by the “Fake News Media.” “They are out of control — correct reporting means nothing to them. Major lies written, then forced to be withdrawn after they are exposed…a stain on America!” Trump wrote.

Since the FCC announced just before Thanksgiving that it was planning to gut the rules, there have been about 750,000 calls to Congress made through Battle for the Net, a website run by groups that advocate for net neutrality. By contrast, there were fewer than 30,000 calls in the first two weeks of November.

Nine industry women share what it was like to expose long-kept secrets and create a movement of solidarity by calling out the media mogul for harassment and assault: “Everything came rushing back” … “It was like PTSD” … “It was the first time I realized I wasn’t alone.”

Splitting the difference between AT&T’s request for a trial date in February and the government’s interest in beginning as late as May, the judge in the closely watched antitrust battle said the trial will begin March 19.

The FCC’s decision to abolish the main studio rule is to be effective 30 days after the publication of the decision in the Federal Register. That publication is tentatively scheduled for tomorrow. That would make the rule change effective on Jan. 7, 2018, although we understand that the FCC may consider it to be effective on Jan. 8, as the 7th is a Sunday.

A month after it sued to block AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner, President Trump’s Justice Department may have to start scrutinizing another big media deal: Disney is widely expected to acquire the majority of 21st Century Fox. In some respects, a potential Disney-Fox deal would pose more antitrust problems than a combination of AT&T and Time Warner, CNN’s parent company.

If ATSC 3.0 becomes the de facto standard for TV broadcasting in the coming decade, Sinclair’s One Media could make a small fortune from patent royalties from manufacturers of 3.0 receivers and transmission gear. That’s cause for concern for the FCC’s Jessica Rosenworcel. Sinclair, however, says its primary interest is in the 3.0 tech that it believes will let it enhance its broadcast capabilities and move into new businesses.

The FCC’s anticipated decision on net neutrality has (rightfully) garnered a lot of publicity and scrutiny. The FCC’s repeal of different regulations earlier this fall, however, could reshape a news source often left out of predictions of the industry’s future: local TV newsrooms.

Time magazine today named “The Silence Breakers” its persons of the year for 2017. Women who spoke out, initially against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and then others, helped to spawn the #MeToo movement, with millions of people telling stories of sexual misconduct on social media.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Terry Crews alleges talent agents at William Morris Endeavor are “knowingly permitted and encouraged to engage in sexually predatory conduct” in a lawsuit filed Tuesday against […]

The FCC intends to go ahead with a vote on Dec. 14 to repeal the net neutrality rules despite calls from Democrats and advocacy groups to delay the proceeding. The FCC said in a statement Monday that “the vote will proceed as scheduled on Dec. 14.”

Sexual harassment allegations against President Donald Trump dating back to his days hosting the reality TV show The Apprentice will be raised in a New York courtroom this afternoon, where a judge will hear arguments on a motion to dismiss a suit brought by a former contestant who says Trump groped her a decade ago.

He’s spent 34 years as president and CEO of the nonprofit organization with three guiding principles: a strong First Amendment, a competitive communications industry and excellence in journalism. He will be succeeded by Media Institute Executive Director Richard T. Kaplar.

FCC Commissioner Mignon L. Clyburn has named April Jones policy analyst and special assistant. “April’s diverse background will be a tremendous asset in our continuing work to ensure the FCC’s […]

Twenty-seven senators are calling on the FCC to delay its vote on repealing its net neutrality rules next week, citing concerns over the possibility that the agency’s public comment file may be filled with fake comments.

Fox News and Bill O’Reilly have been hit with a lawsuit over press statements made in the wake of a New York Times story revealing the former television star had paid $13 million to five women to settle sexual harassment claims.

The FCC plan to scrap net neutrality rules governing how internet providers handle web traffic has unleashed a wave of intense opposition. As of Sunday afternoon, at least 750,000 people have called Congress since Pai announced his plan, according to battleforthenet.com. And activists are planning hundreds of demonstrations at Verizon stores and congressional offices across the country next week in protest of the planned vote.