The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request for emergency stay of FCC media ownership changes (see 1801260046) but asked for more information about the proposed minority incubator program, said an order (in Pacer) Wednesday. Prometheus Radio Project and Media Mobilizing Project’s emergency petition didn’t show “a clear and indisputable abuse of discretion,” likelihood of irreparable injury, a lack of alternatives for relief or an error of law, the order said. Though the rejection is a setback for public interest groups, the court’s request for an FCC report on the proposed incubator program is an indication the issue of minority ownership is still alive here, said University of Minnesota School of Journalism assistant professor-media law Christopher Terry. The incubator program is the agency’s answer to court remands requiring consideration of minority ownership in relaxation of media ownership rules, and the public comment period for the “exact design” of the program doesn’t end until April 9, the order said. “The FCC is hereby directed to file a report on or before August 6, 2018 regarding the status of the incubator program.” That’s an indication the panel will decide if the program fulfills the requirements it laid out in prior decisions, Terry said. The 3rd Circuit put the public interest group petitions of the reconsideration order and the 2014 quadrennial review on hold until August as well. That means little is likely to happen in the proceeding until then, Terry said. Wednesday was the recon order's effective date, and with a stay off the table for now, broadcast deals taking advantage of the relaxation of rules are likely to proceed, he said. The 3rd Circuit also declared (in Pacer) motions to intervene in the case by broadcasters were now rendered moot. NAB is "grateful" that the FCC's "meaningful reform" can proceed, a spokesman said via email. “We are pleased that the Third Circuit has allowed the Commission’s modernized media ownership rules to take effect," an FCC spokesman told us. Attorneys representing the petitioners didn't comment.
Tech companies and the U.S. government need to study ubiquitous social media and mobile tech and prevent their use from harming children and society, said legislators, physicians and advocates at a Common Sense event Wednesday. In trying to make apps, mobile video, games and social networking more attractive, tech companies created addictive products that are causing harm, said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Rep. John Delaney, D-Md. The constant reliance on mobile technology “isn’t a drug, but it might as well be, because it does the same thing,” said Robert Lustig, pediatric endocrinologist at University of California, San Francisco. “It works on the same part of the brain.”
The FCC Media Bureau circulated an NPRM Monday seeking comment on creating a new C4 class of FM stations, said Chairman Ajit Pai in his address to a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council event Tuesday. “This reform could allow hundreds of Class A FM stations to broadcast with increased power.” There was "a lot of talk during previous administrations about trying to take action to promote ownership diversity -- but there was little to nothing done,” Pai said. “I am determined that the FCC on my watch will take concrete steps to create a more diverse communications industry.”
Top U.S. radio station owner iHeartRadio’s apparent upcoming restructuring is a long-anticipated necessary evil, and doesn’t reflect the industry's health, said broadcasters, brokers and analysts in interviews.
AM broadcasters filed more than 850 applications for new FM translators during s recent window, said an FCC news release Friday. Interest was higher than expected, broadcast industry officials and a spokesman told us. The window closed Wednesday was seen by many as the last chance for AM broadcasters to get a translator because no other windows are planned and space in the FM band is limited, broadcasters, brokers and industry lawyers said in interviews Friday.
Hawaii’s false missile alert stemmed from lack of safeguards and human error, including a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee who repeatedly confused drills and real alerts, said reports from the Public Safety Bureau at an FCC commissioners' meeting and later Tuesday from Bruce Oliveira, the retired brigadier general investigating for HI-EMA (see 1801250061). That staffer was fired and other employees were disciplined. Members of Congress told us they continue to be concerned, as are FCC members.
Broadcasters believe the estimated cost of the repacking is closer to $3 billion than the $1.86 billion figure last announced by the FCC, and that it won't be clear how well the repacking plan is functioning until late in 2018, when the process begins moving from one phase to the next, broadcasters and industry officials told us. The transition between phases of the repacking will demonstrate whether tower crews, manufacturers and broadcasters will be able to adhere to the FCC's repacking timeline. If broadcasters start missing their phase deadlines as the repacking goes on, it could have a cascading delay effect, said Gray Television Deputy General Counsel Robert Folliard. The first transition between repacking phases will be “a very telling day,” said PBS Assistant General Counsel Talia Rosen.
Public interest groups’ request for emergency stay of the FCC’s November broadcast ownership order on reconsideration (see 1801250065) is considered a “big ask” but the agency’s record of defeat on ownership rules at the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals means it has a real chance, said attorneys, broadcasters and academics. Petitioners Prometheus Radio Project and Media Mobilizing Project’s request the 3rd Circuit block the ownership rule changes and pending transactions based on them, and appoint a special master to force the FCC to collect data on minority ownership, might be a “tall lift” in most circumstances, said University of Minnesota School of Journalism assistant professor-media law Christopher Terry. If the court agrees the regulator again failed to follow the court’s directives, it’s “not an unreasonable request,” he added.
Questions about the origination of the recent false missile alert in Hawaii should be answered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency rather than the FCC, said FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief Lisa Fowlkes and several senators at a Commerce Committee hearing Thursday (see 1801240046), which FEMA officials didn't attend, despite being invited.
The FCC unanimously approved one media deregulation item from the upcoming January commissioners’ meeting agenda (see 1801090050) Wednesday. The second is also expected to be voted 5-0, officials said in interviews. An order doing away with rules left over from the DTV transition didn't change substantively from the draft, and the draft NPRM on filing requirements isn't expected to, either. "These revisions delete rule provisions that are without current legal effect and are therefore obsolete," said Wednesday's order.