Radio transmission equipment can’t function when filled with mud, said KSBJ FM Humble, Texas, Senior Director-Technology Steven Thompson. “It was a very ugly picture,” he said of the scene he found at the station’s transmitter site when he was finally able to get there via fan boat after Tropical Storm Harvey. Knocked off the air for days by the flooding damage, KSBJ -- like many other broadcasters affected by Harvey and storms Irma and Maria -- learned a lot of lessons this hurricane season. Comments are due Jan. 22 on an FCC proceeding and planned workshop to gather that collective wisdom and help broadcasters better cope with future storms. Though they all told us planning and preparation are important, broadcasters and engineers in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico agreed the best way to make it through a hurricane was the tip offered by Fletcher Heald attorney Davina Sashkin, who had clients affected by all three big storms. “Have a lot of money,” she said.
The full FCC voted 3-2 -- as expected -- to propose a $13.4 million forfeiture for Sinclair Broadcast for more than 1,700 instances of improperly identified paid content (see 1712180064), but the FCC’s Democrats say that’s too little for a $2.7 billion company. “The proposed forfeiture of over $13 million is more than three times any penalty that has ever been imposed for violating our sponsorship identification rules,” Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement released with the notice of apparent liability. “Does this mark yet another example of special treatment by the FCC majority? You decide,” Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said in her statement.
FCC and DOJ approvals of Sinclair buying Tribune are expected in the next few months, industry officials told us. DOJ is considered close to working out an agreement with Sinclair (see 1711300063), and it’s common for FCC approval of a transaction to follow closely after Justice, lawyers said. Though Sinclair/Tribune as filed would leave the combination above the national ownership cap, the companies are widely expected to divest and come in under the cap before transaction approval (see 1711210044).
All commissioners spoke in support of the FCC’s order creating a dedicated Blue Alert code, but Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel was a lone partial dissent, voicing objection to the cost-benefit analysis. That analysis “puts a price on the death of first responders and then nets it out against industry expenses,” Rosenworcel said. “There is a way to do cost-benefit analysis thoughtfully and with dignity for those who wear the shield,” she said. “This isn’t it.” With Rosenworcel’s partial dissent, the order was approved 4-1, as some expected (see 1712130055).
The FCC approved an NPRM seeking comment on possible relaxation or elimination of the national cap on TV station ownership on a 3-2 party-line vote, as expected (see 1712060051). Though Commissioner Mike O’Rielly voted with the other Republicans to approve, he said he agreed with the Democrats the FCC doesn’t have authority to alter the cap. Despite that, if the FCC acts to modify the cap after the NPRM, O’Rielly said he will “happily support” Thursday's action: “That is not to suggest my position has changed, but only that I believe in getting to finality and am willing to cast a vote that will allow the commission to take the needed step to get this to court review.”
Industry officials expect a unanimous FCC vote Thursday to approve a draft item that would create a new emergency alert system code for law enforcement officers in danger, but they left open the possibility one of the agency’s Democrats could vote against it. Those inside and outside the FCC told us the relatively noncontroversial Blue Alert item isn’t their main focus at a commissioners' meeting that also will feature votes on net neutrality (see 1712130053) and the national broadcast coverage ownership cap (see 1712060051). The draft order hasn’t been the target of many suggested edits and has changed little since being released, an FCC official said.
The FCC issued a public notice reminder Tuesday of rules for attending commissioners’ meetings and options for viewing them in response to “significant public interest” in its net neutrality proceeding. The PN includes reminders attendees will be checked in by security and aren’t allowed to stand or address the commission. If the Commission Meeting Room is filled, audience members will be seated in “overflow rooms” with video feeds of the meeting, the PN said. Signs 11 by 17 inches or smaller will be permitted in the meeting room as long as they are held in front of the body to avoid obstructing views, the PN said: Audience members engaging in disruptive behavior “will be asked to leave the building, and anyone who refuses to leave voluntarily will be escorted from the building.” The Washington Metropolitan Police will have officers monitor protests outside Thursday’s commissioners meeting but won't assume “an elevated posture,” an MPD spokeswoman said. The monitoring of planned demonstrations is “routine practice” for all such gatherings that MPD becomes aware of, she said. Free Our Internet, a group supporting the draft item to roll back net neutrality regulations, asked MPD to increase security at the meeting and warned of possible violent protests (see 1712110050). A net neutrality protest outside the FCBA Chairman’s Dinner last week didn't result in any incidents (see 1712080016). In other net neutrality news, Incompas and NTCA criticized the net neutrality draft for effects on interconnection rules (see 1712120015), legislators raised the prospect of congressional action (see 1712120037) and Democratic representatives raised cybersecurity concerns on earlier FCC IT problems (see 1712120052). Other net neutrality news: on dueling partisan congressional moves (see 1712120037), on how the draft net neutrality order may affect interconnection (see 1712120015), and on congressional Democrats' concerns about FCC commenting system cybersecurity (see 1712120052).
Until the markets in which broadcasters compete are accurately defined, FCC ownership rules won’t be able to accurately reflect them, said Brooke Ericson, aide to Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, on a panel at the Practising Law Institute conference Friday. Critics of the recent ownership rule changes aren’t denying the media landscape has changed, but they're concerned the recent relaxation of the rules could have consequences for diversity and localism, said Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood. The market isn't “filling the void” left by declining local news outlets, Wood said. PLI Friday also heard from congressional officials (see 1712080060).
National Religious Broadcasters urged Congress Thursday to hold hearings on tech companies such as Google and Twitter suppressing conservative viewpoints, and announced the Internet Freedom Watch Initiative to track incidents. NRB is alarmed “at the ever growing examples of censorship of Christian and conservative viewpoints online, largely at the behest of small yet dominant groups of cultural elites,” said CEO Jerry Johnson. NRB sent letters to Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter asking they use the same standards for speech as the First Amendment, drawing the line only at speech that “threatens violence” or “spews obscenity” without “trampling on free speech liberties.”
FCC Democrats aren't expected to support the draft NPRM seeking comment on the national TV ownership cap, industry officials said in interviews. Though the item is an NPRM without tentative conclusions (see 1711210044), comments from Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn when the item was released indicate they don't support it, and both said the FCC doesn’t have the authority to modify the cap. The NPRM is on the agenda for commissioners' Dec.14 meeting.