Yesterday, the FCC released its Fourth Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in its Review of the Commission’s Broadcast and Cable Equal Employment Opportunity Rules and Policies docket, which was first opened in 1998. The Report and Order portion of the document reinstates…
Annual EEO Public File Report Deadline for Stations in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma
February 1 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma to place their Annual EEO Public File Report in their Public Inspection File and post the report on their station website. Under the FCC’s EEO Rule, all…
FCC Enforcement Monitor January 2024
Pillsbury’s communications lawyers have published FCC Enforcement Monitor monthly since 1999 to inform our clients of notable FCC enforcement actions against FCC license holders and others. This month’s issue includes: TV Broadcaster Faces $150,000 Fine for Failure to Negotiate Retransmission Consent in Good Faith Sponsorship ID and Political File Violations…
Meeting Your Annual Children’s Television Programming Reporting Obligations
The deadline to file the 2023 Annual Children’s Television Programming Report with the FCC is January 30, 2024, reflecting programming aired during the 2023 calendar year. In addition, commercial stations’ documentation of their compliance with the commercial limits in children’s programming during the 2023 calendar year must be placed in…
And They’re Off: FCC Jumps Out of the Gate with Back-to-Back Enforcement Actions and NPRMs
If there was any doubt that the late-2023 confirmation of Anna Gomez as the fifth commissioner would bring a flurry of FCC activity in 2024, the FCC has laid those questions to rest. In addition to a $150,000 good faith NAL, $500,000 sponsorship ID consent decree, $26,000 EEO report NAL,…
Media and Telecom Companies Must Adapt to New DOL Rule on Classifying Employees and Independent Contractors
Given that the name of this site is CommLawCenter, our focus is generally on communications law and regulation. More accurately, however, our focus is on legal developments that affect the media and telecom industries, even when they emanate from entities other than Congress or the FCC. This is particularly true…
Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content in Political Ads Raises New Concerns for Broadcasters
With the Iowa Republican Caucus happening in mid-January and dozens of additional primaries and caucuses to follow before the 2024 general election, broadcasters need to be aware of the use of artificial intelligence (AI), deepfakes and synthetic media in political advertising and the various laws at play when such content…