Articles Posted in Radio

By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Scott R. Flick, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski

October 2006
TV, Class A TV, LPTV and TV translator stations licensed to communities in New York and New Jersey should be receiving soon a postcard from the FCC reminding them that their license renewal applications must be filed by February 1, 2007.

Published on: October 5, 2006

2006 Third Quarter Issues/Programs List Advisory for Broadcast Stations

By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski

October 2006
Content of the Quarterly List

The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ local Public Inspection Files by October 10, 2006, reflecting information for the months of July, August, and September.

Published on: September 29, 2006

FCC Designates Texas Radio Station’s License Renewal Application for Hearing in Response to Apparently False Certifications

September 2006
The Commission has designated a Texas radio station’s license renewal application for hearing after determining that the licensee apparently made several false certifications to the Commission, calling the licensee’s basic character qualifications into question. In January 2003, the licensee applied for a license to cover a previously-granted construction permit, and certified that the station’s new facilities had been constructed as authorized. In May 2003, however, Commission personnel observed the station transmitting from a site approximately five miles from the location specified in the station’s license application. During the subsequent inspection of the station, the licensee acknowledged that it had not commenced construction at the authorized site as certified, but that it had filed the license to cover application in order to prevent the expiration of the construction permit.

Published on: September 26, 2006

Second Circuit Court of Appeals Remands Portion of March 2006 Indecency Decisions and FCC Seeks Comments

By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Clifford M. Harrington and Richard R. Zaragoza

September 2006
FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology Announces Schedule for Proceeding on Unlicensed Operation in the TV Broadcast Bands

As we reported earlier, on March 6, 2006, the FCC released an Order in Complaints Regarding Various Television Broadcasts Between February 2, 2002 and March 8, 2005, Notices of Apparent Liability and Memorandum Opinion and Order, FCC 06-17 (the “Omnibus Order”). After the release of the Order, Fox Television Stations, Inc. and CBS Broadcasting, Inc. filed a joint petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the ABC Television Network and Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. filed a joint petition for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit which transferred the petition to the Second Circuit. The Second Circuit consolidated the petitions on June 14, 2006.

Published on: August 1, 2006

Pre-filing and Post-filing License Renewal Announcement Reminder for Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont TV, Class A TV, LPTV and TV Translator Stations

By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Scott R. Flick, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski

August 2006
TV, Class A TV, LPTV and TV translator stations licensed to communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont should be receiving soon a postcard from the FCC reminding them that their license renewal applications must be filed by December 1, 2006.

Published on: July 28, 2006

FCC Releases Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in Broadcast Ownership Proceeding

July 2006
On July 24, 2006, the FCC released the text of the Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“FNPRM”) in the broadcast ownership proceeding that was adopted at the FCC’s June 21, 2006 agenda meeting. The FNPRM encompasses a number of docketed rule makings – a 2006 quadrennial regulatory review, the 2002 biennial regulatory review, cross-ownership of broadcast stations and newspapers, and rules and policies concerning local ownership of television stations and radio stations in the same market including the definition of radio markets. Basically, the FNPRM seeks comment on how the Commission should address the issues raised by the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC, 373 F.3d 372, 382 (3d Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 125 S. Ct. 2902 (2005) (“Prometheus”); whether the media ownership rules are “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition;” and whether they should be changed in any way. Comments in the proceeding are due by September 22, 2006 and reply comments by November 21, 2006.

Published on: July 18, 2006

Broadcast Station EEO Advisory

By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski

July 2006
This Broadcast Station EEO Advisory is directed to radio and television stations licensed to communities in California, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin and highlights the upcoming deadlines for compliance with the FCC’s EEO rule.

Published on: June 21, 2006

FCC Adopts Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Broadcast Ownership Rules

By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer
June 2006
At its June 21, 2006 Open Agenda Meeting, the FCC adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“FNPRM”) concerning its broadcast multiple ownership rules and at the same time announced the beginning of its quadrennial ownership review required by Congress. The FNPRM has two purposes: (1) it seeks comment on how to address the issues raised by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Prometheus Radio Project, et al. v. FCC, 373 F. 3d 372 (3rd Cir. 2004), and (2) it opens a comprehensive review of all the FCC’s multiple ownership rules.

Published on: June 8, 2006

2006 Second Quarter Issues / Programs List Advisory for Broadcast Stations

By Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Lauren Lynch Flick and Paul A. Cicelski

June 2006
Content of the Quarterly List

The next Quarterly Issues/Programs List (“Quarterly List”) must be placed in stations’ local Public Inspection Files by July 10, 2006, reflecting information for the months of April, May and June, 2006.

The FCC requires each broadcast station to air a reasonable amount of programming responsive to significant community needs, issues, and problems as determined by the station. The FCC gives each station the discretion to determine which issues facing the community served by the station are the most significant and how best to respond to them in the station’s overall programming.