January 2007

Chairman Martin yesterday announced the appointment of a new Chief of the Media Bureau, the FCC Bureau which directly regulates broadcasters.  The Media Bureau processes broadcast technical applications, approves sales of stations, and takes the first draft of most policy issues which affect broadcasters.  Donna Gregg, who has held that position since 2005, is…

In a recent article from the Boston Globe, an interview with the new manger of WBZ-TV in Boston stressed the importance of the stations call letters.  The article talks about the connection that the local audience had to the well-known station call letters , and how the station had suffered to some degree by de-emphasizing those call letters while using…

In a decision released last week on an increasingly common issue, the FCC refused to get involved in a retransmission consent negotiation dispute between a cable television system and a television station.  The dispute involved Sinclair Broadcasting’s demands for cash consideration for the carriage of its television stations by cable systems owned by Mediacom Communications. …

In recent weeks, the FCC has been vigorously defending its indecency rules in Court.  First, oral arguments on the FCC’s actions against Fox and NBC for "fleeting utterances," one-time unscripted airing of profanities during television coverage of live award programs, were held the week before Christmas – with a decision possible in the upcoming months.  At…