Legislative Update
Webcasting Royalties Going Up – Copyright Royalty Board Releases Rates and Terms for 2021-2025
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) on Friday (6/11) released the rates and terms for webcasting royalties for 2021-2025, and the rates are going up. While the full decision explaining the reasoning for the rate increases will not be released to the public until the parties to the case have…
Read MoreFCC Implements Supreme Court Order Reinstating 2017 Ownership Rule Changes, and Asks for Updating of Record of 2018 Quadrennial Review
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP The Newspaper Broadcast Cross-Ownership Rule is Finally Dead – And More Ownership Rule Changes – Including for Radio – Are to be Considered Last Friday, the FCC took two actions on broadcast ownership resulting from the recent Supreme Court decision (about which we wrote here) upholding changes to the ownership rules that the…
Read MoreBroadcasters Pledge Support for Vaccine Awareness National Month of Action Beginning June 4
Editor’s note: Your MAB has made a state-wide Vaccination Town Hall available to television and radio stations in the state. More here. As founding members of the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 Community Corps, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is urging all local radio and television stations to help kick off a National Month of Action…
Read MoreGovernor Vetoes Bill to Prohibit FOIA Suspension by Executive Order
Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday (6/3) vetoed a bill that would prohibit the suspension of Freedom of Information Act requests through an executive order in many cases, according to a report in Gongwer. The bill originated in the House, where it was passed 98-11 on April 22. The Senate later gave its approval to legislation…
Read MoreCongressman Jack Bergman Adds Name to Local Radio Freedom Act
Northern Michigan’s U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-1) joined the growing list of 127 bipartisan cosponsors of a House Resolution in support of the Local Radio Freedom Act on May 28. Reps. Fred Upton (R-6), Tim Walberg (R-7) and Debbie Dingell (D-12) were among the act’s original cosponsors when the resolution was introduced on May 4.…
Read MoreLow Power FM Back In Front of FCC – Another Proposal to Raise Power and Word of a New Filing Window
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP Low Power FM is back in the news this week. As we noted a week ago in our summary of FCC regulatory actions, a Petition for Rulemaking has been filed by REC Networks asking that the maximum authorized power for LPFM stations be raised from 100 to 250 watts. The hope among LPFM advocates is that…
Read MoreHouse Passed Bill to Prevent FOIA Suspension by Executive Order Moves to Senate Floor
Members of the Senate Oversight Committee on Tuesday recommended the full Senate approve a House bill that would prohibit the suspension of Freedom of Information Act requests through an executive order in many cases, according to a report in Gongwer. Jonathan Magry, a staffer for the bill’s sponsor Rep. Steve Johnson (R-Wayland), told the committee…
Read MoreNAB Voices Opposition Against Proposed FCC Radio Rate Hikes
The National Association of Broadcasters is quickly pushing back against a proposal by the Federal Communications Commission to raise the annual regulatory fees on radio stations by an average of eight percent, according to a report in InsideRadio. In a disclosure filing, NAB General Counsel and Executive Vice President Legal and Regulatory Affairs Rick Kaplan…
Read MoreCall on Congress Goes Virtual This Year
This past week, your MAB held its annual “Call on Congress” meetings with lawmakers from across Michigan. Due to the continued pandemic concerns, this years COC was held virtually. On Wednesday, MAB members were able to speak and discuss broadcast-related issues with staff from Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin’s (D-8th) office, Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-10th), Congresswoman Rashida…
Read MoreSenator Looks to Add Local Journalism Tax Breaks, Grants to Infrastructure Proposals
Local journalism needs to be part of President Biden’s call for investment in national infrastructure, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) told the NAB State Leadership Conference this week. According to a report in InsideRadio, she plans to introduce legislation that would make as much as $2.3 billion in tax credits and grants available over the next…
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