On March 17th our very own Frank Montero and Seth Williams presented a lecture on how to close a broadcast station acquisition to the latest class of industry leaders. The session was part of the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation’s Broadcast Leadership Training Program (BLT). We are thrilled to be among the supporters of … Continue Reading
Congratulations to the National Association of Broadcasters, the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations, and all state broadcast associations on a successful NAB State Leadership Conference this past week in Washington, D.C. Fletcher, Heald, & Hildreth is proud to have sponsored this year’s State Leadership Conference.… Continue Reading
On March 25th our very own Frank Montero and Seth Williams presented on the subject of broadcast station acquisitions to the most recent class of industry leaders. This training was part of the NAB Leadership Foundation’s Broadcast Leadership Training Program (BLT). FHH is a proud sponsor and provides several faculty members to the BLT program. … Continue Reading
Recently we posted a blog alerting that the FCC was updating aspects of its political programming and recordkeeping rules. That FCC Order revised the definition of “legally qualified candidate for public office”, and also amended the political file rules. The revised rules are effective 30 days after publication of a summary of the order in … Continue Reading
On January 27, 2022, the FCC will hold its monthly open meeting. The meeting will address increasing the transparency of internet access service providers, amending the definition of a library to clarify that Tribal libraries are eligible for support from the E-Rate program, and resolving issues associated with white space devices and databases. The most … Continue Reading
Last Friday, the Federal Communications Commission released a Public Notice listing radio and television licensees from whom the FCC has accepted applications for license renewal filed on or before the December 1 deadline. Radio licensees located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont and television licensees in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission has continued to show its commitment to digital equity by committing $1.1 billion to schools and libraries in the second wave of the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) program. This funding supports off-premises educational needs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. … Continue Reading
The FCC’s Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE) has been rechartered and rebranded as the Communications Equity and Diversity Council (CEDC). Fletcher Heald partner Frank Montero served on the ACDDE in the early 2000s when it was first established. The overall mission for the CEDC is to expand on the work done by … Continue Reading
This month, President Biden has finally announced nominations for FCC Chair in Jessica Rosenworcel and for the open Democratic seat on the FCC in Gigi Sohn, respectively. The President also announced his nomination of Alan Davidson for Director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce. With the dual FCC nominations, … Continue Reading
On March 23, Fletcher Heald attorney Thomas Urban presented a webinar on how COVID-19 has affected contract litigation and how companies should be prepared for future public health emergencies. During the presentation, Tom broke down the differences in contract doctrines and provided viewers with specific case law that could be applicable in potential lawsuits. The … Continue Reading
For over a year, COVID-19 has created immeasurable change to our way of life and the global economy. By now, you have probably already heard of or dealt with contractual disputes—from advertising to insurance and many other fields—related to non-performance caused by the pandemic. While many cases are still being litigated, it is important to … Continue Reading
Washington, DC – The Members of telecommunications, media, and technology law firm Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, PLC are proud to announce that they have elected Thomas F. Urban II as a Member of the Firm effective immediately. Joining the firm in January 2020, Mr. Urban had an impactful first year with his active litigation practice, … Continue Reading
For over a year, COVID-19 has created immeasurable change to our way of life and the global economy. By now, you have probably already heard of or dealt with contractual disputes—from advertising to insurance and many other fields—related to non-performance caused by the pandemic. While many cases are still being litigated, it is important to … Continue Reading
Broadcast Deadlines: January 30, 2021 Children’s Television Programming Reports – Each commercial TV and Class A television station must electronically file its annual Children’s Television Programming Report, on FCC Form 2100 Schedule H, to report on programming aired by the station and other efforts in 2020 that were specifically designed to serve the educational and … Continue Reading
Over the last few weeks, attorneys Bob Winteringham, Dan Kirkpatrick, and Frank Montero have presented a series of compliance webinars for the National Education Telecommunications Association as a part of their course entitled “Navigating Common Compliance Matter,” which covered important compliance topics for broadcast stations. Those webinar topics include: Corporation for Public Broadcasting compliance … Continue Reading
The following is a message from the Federal Communications Bar Association (“FCBA”): It’s that time again – on Tuesday, November 10, 2020, the FCBA Young Lawyers Committee and the FCBA Foundation will hold their 31st Annual FCBA Charity Auction virtually this year. While the event is still free and open to the public, unlike prior … Continue Reading
On October 29, Fletcher Heald attorneys Frank Montero and Keenan Adamchak in cooperation with the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (“NFCB”) presented a webinar on the upcoming noncommercial educational (“NCE”) FM and lower power FM (“LPFM”) filing windows. In this webinar, they explored the NCE and LPFM application forms, processes, and FCC tie-breaking criteria, as well as pointing out … Continue Reading
Fletcher Heald partner Frank Montero was featured on the cover of this month’s Radio Ink magazine. The cover story interview describes Frank’s decades of experience in broadcasting, how the industry is handling the COVID-19 crisis, potential changes to FCC leadership, and legal issues broadcasters could face in the future. For more details, check out Radio … Continue Reading
FCC Chairman Pai recently announced that for the first time in a decade, the FCC will in the near future accept applications for full-power noncommercial radio stations across the nation. This filing window is expected to be followed by a filing window for new low-power FM (LPFM) stations. What’s involved in filing an application with … Continue Reading
Yesterday, Fletcher Heald attorneys Frank Montero and Davina Sashkin with Pat Roberts of the Florida Association of Broadcasters (“FAB”), and their special guests Lisa Fowlkes and Christina Clearwater of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and Craig Fugate, former FEMA Administrator and founder of Fugate Consulting, presented a webinar in consultation with the … Continue Reading
On July 30, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth attorneys, Frank Montero and Dan Kirkpatrick, along with the FCC’s political programming experts, Bobby Baker, Gary Schonman, and Sima Nilsson, discussed the requirements and latest developments in the FCC’s political broadcasting rules, including equal time, lowest unit rates, PAC ads, BCRA, and record keeping.… Continue Reading
Washington-area based telecommunications, media, and technology law firm Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, P.L.C. is pleased to announce the arrival of Kristen Corra, who has joined the firm as an Associate. Having represented a major wireless carrier and assisted with securing commercial leasing, licensing, and potential acquisition of telecommunications infrastructure, Kristen brings her prowess to the … Continue Reading
On March 25, 2020, we blogged that the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) had issued a Declaratory Ruling under the Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), that the coronavirus pandemic constitutes an “emergency” which invokes a statutory exception permitting certain kinds of robocalls to be made and texts sent without the consent of the recipient. Since that date, … Continue Reading
As COVID-19 continues to challenge our nation, we at Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth PLC are taking action to ensure the health and safety of our team and their loved ones. Starting tomorrow, March 18, 2020, all staff will transition to telework. FHH attorneys and staff are reachable via email and their office telephone numbers and … Continue Reading
