Category: Public News

Effort To Allow Cannabis Ads On Local Radio And TV Clears House.

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Broadcasters’ hopes of cashing in on the cannabis legalization trend took a step forward Wednesday. The U.S. House approved a series of budget bills on a 220 to 207 vote, including one that would pave the way for local radio and television stations to accept cannabis ads as long as it is located in a state where the drug has been legalized.

As Inside Radio first reported last month, the language that would open the door for broadcasters to carry cannabis ads was tucked deep inside the proposed federal budget in the Financial Services and General Government portion of the hulking federal budget. It would prevent the Federal Communications Commission from taking administrative action against broadcasters that accept cannabis ads, as long as cannabis has been legalized in the state or jurisdiction in which the station is licensed. But even in places where local laws have not been changed, the FCC would not be able to go after a station if it takes ads from a business selling hemp, hemp-derived CBD products, or other hemp-derived cannabinoid products.

The Safe Advertising Coalition – the group of state broadcast associations advocating for cannabis ads – says the change recognizes the unfairness of the present situation with respect to cannabis advertising.

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FEMA Says No National EAS Test Is Planned For This Year.

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The national test of the Emergency Alert System has become a near-annual tradition since the first one was conducted in 2011. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency says it will not conduct a nationwide EAS test in 2022.

“It will not happen this year,” said Antwane Johnson, FEMA’s Deputy Assistant Administrator. “We are planning to do that in the early part of ’23,” he announced at last week’s NAB Show. Johnson said FEMA is working to develop a new survey system that would allow the government to better monitor the results of the national test of the Wireless Alert System (WEA), which is expected to be tested alongside EAS in the coming year.

The survey would poll the public about whether they heard or saw the alerts. The information would then be shared with broadcasters and the wireless industry. “We can use that information to improve our alert and warning capabilities for the nation,” said Johnson.

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U.S. Radio’s New Technical Rules Take Effect April 18

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FCC order aims to eliminate rule inconsistencies and drop outdated ones

Here is an update to a story we’ve been following for you: The updated technical rules for U.S. radio broadcasters take effect April 18.

As reported earlier, the Federal Communications Commission in February released a report and order with the goal of streamlining and eliminating rules that it found redundant, outdated or conflicting.

That order now has been published in the Federal Register, so the rules officially kick in April 18.

The changes are described more fully in the article “FCC Finalizes Changes to Tech Rules.”

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NAB Launches Attack Ads Ahead Of Royalty Bill’s Expected Advance In Congress.

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Despite a near-majority of House members on record as opposing the creation of a performance royalty placed on radio stations, the National Association of Broadcasters says it expects a bill that would do just that will move forward in the coming weeks. The NAB says it expects House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) to bring up for a vote the American Music Fairness Act (H.R. 4130) and by its headcount, there are enough supporters of the proposal on the Committee for the bill to advance to the full House for consideration.

Nadler, a longtime supporter of a performance right for AM/FM airplay, held a hearing on the bill last month. If adopted, the American Music Fairness Act would create a performance right on AM/FM airplay, with rates that would be set for most stations by the Copyright Royalty Board. The main target is larger radio groups. Stations that fall under $1.5 million in annual revenue and whose parent companies make less than $10 million in annual revenue would pay $500 per year in performance royalties. And even smaller stations – those with less than $100,000 per year in revenue – would pay ten dollars a year.

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Newspaper Industry Faces Assault On Public Notices

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Public notices, also known as legal notices, are a mainstay of newspaper-industry revenue. But in recent days they’ve come under assault, with at least five state legislatures moving to relax requirements that municipal and state governments post public notices in local newspapers.

Last week for example, a measure to allow state and county agencies to stop publishing certain official notices in Hawaii’s daily newspapers was approved by a state senate committee. The bill would allow Hawaii government agencies to publish some public notices on agencies’ web sites instead of in the newspapers. Agencies argue that they can save hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result.

Also last week, the Florida House of Representatives approved a bill that would give governmental agencies the option to publish legal notices on a publicly accessible website of the affected county instead of in a print newspaper.

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FCC Takes Steps to Protect Against Cyberattacks From Russia and its Agents

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FCC Chairwoman wants public input on protecting against vulnerabilities

WASHINGTON—In light of Russia’s attack on the Ukraine last week, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed action to help protect America’s communications networks against cyberattacks. Earlier in the week, the Department of Homeland Security warned U.S. organizations at all levels that they could face cyber threats stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict; the FCC said Chairwoman Rosenworcel’ss proposal would begin an inquiry into the vulnerabilities of the internet’s global routing system.

If adopted by a vote of the full commission, the Notice of Inquiry would seek public comment on vulnerabilities threatening the security and integrity of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), which the FCC says is central to the internet’s global routing system. The inquiry would also examine the impact these vulnerabilities would have on the transmission of data through email, e-commerce, bank transactions, interconnected Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and 911 calls—and how best to address these challenges.

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Big Country Stars Thank Radio

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From Dierks Bentley and Jon Pardi performing at The Ryman to Thomas Rhett, who played opening night of CRS at the Amazon Music sponsored event, the gratitude from country artists was clear; thank you for playing our songs. It’s the goal every country artist has and not one complained that radio stations were playing their music for free and they wanted to be paid.

That theme continued when songwriters played their big hits at Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley Thursday night. The relationship between country artists and country radio stations is rock solid. It’s a relationship that both sides know produces number one songs and loyal listeners.

Warner Nashville CEO John Esposito went even further on the topic. During an interview with Mike McVay Esposito said, on the music side of things you cannot win just on streaming. “Radio is still a big discovery vehicle. It’s a big win for us when we get into the top 20. That’s when we start making money.”

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Curtis LeGeyt Lays Out His Plans For NAB, Telling Members They Have Role To Play.

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Three weeks into his new job, National Association of Broadcasters President Curtis LeGeyt met with members Thursday in a virtual town hall. The closed-door event allowed LeGeyt to offer an outline of where he plans to take the NAB, including the Washington fights he is most focused on in his first months leading the trade group.

The press was not allowed to listen in, but in a summary of the event provided by the NAB, it said LeGeyt told broadcasters that his biggest focus will be “winning policy fights” that “ensure a broadcast business that can thrive in today’s media landscape.” He is also focused on what the NAB says are “business-oriented” initiatives. And LeGeyt said he will dedicate time to breathing new life into the NAB Show, which was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

During the event, LeGeyt also called on NAB members to continue their hometown lobbying efforts which have in the past proven successful at swaying members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

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NAB Show 2021 Canceled.

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Citing ‘Insurmountable Challenges,’ NAB Cancels 2021 NAB Show

The National Association of Broadcasters announced today that it has pulled the plug on the NAB Show scheduled for next month in Las Vegas, citing “unexpected and insurmountable challenges” from the COVID-19 pandemic and surge of the Delta variant. “While we are disappointed that we will not be together again in person next month, we look forward to converging at the 2022 NAB Show, April 23-27, 2022, to reignite our passion for our business and focus on a bright future ahead.” Chris Brown, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Global Connections and Events at the NAB said in an announcement.  The trade group plans to announce virtual options for accessing select 2021 NAB Show content through NAB Amplify.

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Broadcasters Push for Local Journalism Tax Break Bill

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Say Big Tech is draining off critical ad dollars

Local broadcasters are urging the Senate to provide tax credits to stations that staff up their newsrooms, citing, in part, Big Tech’s “devouring” of their local ad market. In a letter to Senate leadership, all 50 state broadcaster associations called for passage of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.

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