March 2021
March Madness Trademarks: Tips To Avoid A Foul Call from the NCAA (2021 Update)
By: Mitchell Stabbe, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP via the Broadcast Law Blog This article is compiled from a 2-part series appearing in the blog. My 2020 annual update on the use of trademarks associated with the NCAA Basketball Tournament was published on the same day that the NCAA announced it was cancelling the tournament due…
Read MoreScripps Media Airs ‘Hidden Bias of Good People’ on Michigan Stations
As part of its commitment to creating a better-informed world, The E.W. Scripps Company has been airing a commercial interruption-free special on its local television stations across the country to spark a national dialogue around implicit bias while advancing conversations at the local level in the 41 markets where it operates. The stations in Michigan…
Read MoreCongress Approves Relief for Public Media Stations
On March 10, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate coronavirus relief legislation. Within this legislation was $175 million in COVID-related assistance for the nation’s 1,400 public radio and television stations. The funds, to be distributed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, will help maintain local stations’ enhanced programming and services, and protect the…
Read MoreiHeart West Michigan Raises $95,000 for Dégagé Ministries
On February 5, iHeartMedia/West Michigan held its fourth annual “Day of Hope” on its WOOD-AM/FM and WBFX-FM (BIG 101.3), collecting $95,000 for Grand Rapids homeless shelter Dégagé Ministries. On-air personalities from the stations, broadcasted live from 5 a.m. – 6 p.m. that day, sharing stories of hope from the men and women Dégagé has served. Due…
Read MoreJournalism Competition and Preservation Act Introduced in Congress
House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David N. Cicilline (RI-01), House Antitrust Subcommittee Ranking Member Ken Buck (CO-04), Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) and Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on Wednesday (3/10) announced the introduction of the bipartisan Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, legislation that seeks to…
Read MoreFCC Notes Violations for Two LPFM Operators for Spurious Emissions – Make Sure that Your Station is Transmitting Only Within Its Assigned Frequency
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP In two Notices of Violation issued on one day this week, an FCC Field Office cited Low Power FM operators for using transmission systems that, in addition to transmitting signals on their authorized channels, were also emitting signals on other channels that posed the potential for interference with…
Read MoreNorthern Michigan Radio Personality Lin McNett Dies
Lin D. McNett, known to radio listeners as Michael O’Shea, passed away March 8 at The Villa at Traverse Point in Traverse City. McNett spent his youth in Alden, graduating from Mancelona High School. He went on to join the U.S. Coast Guard, where he found his passion for radio. After returning home he started…
Read MoreCDC Releases Guidance for People Who are Fully Vaccinated
On March 8, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its first set of guidance for fully vaccinated people. Here’s what fully vaccinated people can do: Visit other vaccinated people indoors without masks or physical distancing Visit indoors with unvaccinated people from a single household without masks or physical distancing, if the…
Read MoreArt Cervi, Detroit’s ‘Bozo the Clown’ Passes at 86
The MAB has learned that Art Cervi, who played children’s television show host “Bozo the Clown,” passed away February 15 at age 86. Cervi played the clown with a big red nose and red hair that protruded sideways on either side of his head, first on CKLW-TV from 1967 to 1975, then continued on WJBK-TV…
Read MoreProtect Your Stations from Random FCC Inspections
You say that the FCC doesn’t do random inspections anymore? Not true, they do. It’s easier than ever before. With so much of our business activities available in our public file and on electronic forms at the FCC, they can easily inspect a station without ever coming to your door. Additionally they still investigate complaints. COVID…
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