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…
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…
WOWE-FM (Vassar-Flint) has flipped formats from R&B to a Hip Hop Urban format (as “98.9 The Beat”) under the new LMA to Edwards Media LLC. The station is owned by Praestantia Broadcasting, Inc., which is controlled by the estate of Michael J. Shumpert, who passed away in June 2019. The change will include the debut…
19 Michigan Television stations, both public and commercial, along with cable networks, ad agencies and production houses throughout the state have received nominations for this year’s National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS)/Michigan 43rd Annual Regional EMMY® Awards. The nominations were announced May 19 on Facebook Live. Award ceremonies will be held virtually on…
By: Seth Resler, Jacobs Media Strategies As radio broadcasters, our thinking tends to be very topical. That’s in large part because our on-air breaks are fleeting: a DJ says what they have to say and then it disappears into the ether, unlike books, movies, or podcasts that stick around for a long time and can…
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…
Gray Television’s WILX-TV (Lansing) has announced that award-winning journalist Amicia Ramsey is joining the station to co-host its morning newscast. Ramsey will join Mallory Anderson at the News 10 Today anchor desk beginning May 17. Ramsey is a graduate of The University of Missouri. She was most recently a reporter at Fox13 in Memphis, Tenn.,…
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…
The MAB has learned that veteran broadcaster Ed Ver Schure has died. He was 76. He was born on March 25, 1945 in Grand Haven. Ver Schure started his career in 1963 at WHTC-AM (Holland), moving in 1971 to WGRD (Grand Rapids) and then to WLAV (Grand Rapids) in 1972. This was followed by a…
By: David Oxenford, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP Everyone knows that a fundamental principle of American democracy is the First Amendment – guaranteeing many freedoms to US citizens including freedom of the press and freedom of speech. It is one of those concepts that underlies our society, but is often mentioned only in passing, and rarely considered in…