With the October 1 deadline looming, FHH’s Dan Kirkpatrick and Paul Feldman held a webinar to help industry leaders navigate the waters regarding must-carry/retransmission consent. If you missed the webinar, or just want a refresher, never fear: you can catch it in re-runs. We’ve posted a recording of the show here – all audio and slides … Continue Reading
Tuesday, August 22, 2017 – 2:00-3:15 p.m. (EDT) For all full power TV stations, October 1, 2017 is a critical deadline for electing between must-carry and retransmission consent for the next three years. What should you consider before electing must-carry or retransmission consent? What has changed in the three years since elections were last made? … Continue Reading
Regular readers of our “Memorandum to Clients” publication are an astute and well-read bunch (probably because they read the “MTC”). So we’re guessing that you are generally aware of our usual publication schedule and plan your lives accordingly. That’s why we want to get ahead of any potential concern this month by telling you that … Continue Reading
FHH Profs Montero and Kirkpatrick show up-and-comers the ropes. Another class of the brightest and the best is working its way through the Broadcast Leadership Training Program, and FHH is there to help. The BLT is a 10-month Executive MBA-style program created by the National Association of Broadcasters Education Fund (NABEF) to provide rising executives the … Continue Reading
Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth is pleased to announce that Laura Stefani has become a member of FHH. She came to the firm in 2014 with as Of Counsel. Her promotion became effective as of January 1, 2017. Her primary professional focus has been emerging technologies and spectrum use. She has considerable experience with unlicensed wireless … Continue Reading
FHH’s own managing member, Frank Montero was featured in a front page profile interview for Radio World Magazine where he discusses his views on the Trump Administration’s impact on the new FCC and the potential effect on broadcasters. Here is the interview: … Continue Reading
Many readers will recall our posts about the webinar discussing the Radio Music Licensing Committee’s lawsuit against Global Music Rights that was scheduled for this week. As we have explained to readers in our earlier blog posts, GMR was founded to extract higher license fees for its copyright owner members than those obtained by ASCAP or BMI … Continue Reading
Wilkommen, Bienvenu, Welcome! Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth is pleased to announce that Mark DeSantis has joined us as an associate attorney. Mark came to FHH in November 2016 after completing a fellowship with the Global Antitrust Institute where he performed research related to the intersection of international antitrust and intellectual property law. He got his … Continue Reading
Last year we posted a link to a You Tube video condensing the famous “turkey drop” episode from the 1970s television show “WKRP in Cincinnati.” We dubbed this a “Thanksgiving Tradition” even though it was a first time posting. In the words of our own Founding Blogmeister Harry Cole, “what are traditions about, anyway, if … Continue Reading
A recent D.C. Circuit Court decision may significantly impact the access charges billed by over-the-top VoIP carriers. In 2015 the Commission issued a declaratory ruling (In re Connect America Fund, 30 FCC Rcd. 1587 (2015) regarding the classification of end office local switching when internet service providers (“ISPs”) collaborate with over-the-top VoIP providers to complete interexchange … Continue Reading
The FCBA’s Annual Charity Auction, that is. OK, all you current or wannabe high rollers, risk takers, deal makers, thrill seeking bargain hunters, bon vivants … and anybody else, for that matter. Get out your calendars and mark November 10, 2016 – because that’s the date of this year’s FCBA Charity Auction. It’s a Thursday, … Continue Reading
News Editors’ website highlights post addressing permissible media use of “user-generated” photo/video content obtained from social media and other Internet sources. I’m fortunate to represent a number of press-related trade associations. As part of my work for them, I provide a “Legal Hotline” service through which association members get to ask me questions without incurring massive … Continue Reading
Wilkommen, Bienvenu, Welcome! Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth is pleased to announce that, come September, Keenan Adamchak will be joining us as an associate. Although a relatively recent arrival to the bar – he snagged his J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 2014 – Keenan has been a presence on the communications law scene … Continue Reading
A week or two ago we introduced you to Karyn Ablin, a new arrival at FHH but an old-hand in a number of practice areas, including particularly copyright law. We should have held off on the welcoming post, because no sooner had we put it up but Karyn added yet another honor that we could … Continue Reading
Fletcher Heald & Hildreth is proud to announce that it has become affiliated with the IURISGAL International Network of Law Firms, an independent network – the first and only network – of law firms capable of providing legal services to their clients in the Spanish language. IURISGAL presently includes nearly 40 firms located across four continents. … Continue Reading
FHH lawyer Mitchell Lazarus began his professional life as an electrical engineer … until he took a wrong turn, he says, and ended up in the law. But that hasn’t tarnished his cred among the tech audience, as demonstrated by his regular appearances in the pages of IEEE Spectrum, the leading global magazine for electrical … Continue Reading
Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome! Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth is pleased to announce that Karyn K. Ablin has joined us as a member of the firm. Karyn has more than two decades of practice experience, with a particular focus on intellectual property issues. Where has she practiced? Where hasn’t she practiced? She’s spent a lot of time … Continue Reading
FHH lawyer and CommLawBlog contributor Mitchell Lazarus recognized The National Spectrum Management Association (NSMA) is an organization of “like minded individuals who take spectrum and regulatory issues very seriously.” Many of its members have been in the spectrum business for decades. Proper stewardship of the spectrum, says their website, is not just “their job but … Continue Reading
Three-day program in San Francisco will feature FHH’s Laura Stefani and Dan Kirkpatrick along with other eminent FCC practitioners providing insight into All Things FCC. Attention, all you Friends of CommLawBlog! San Francisco beckons, again. The American Conference Institute is presenting its second annual “FCC Boot Camp” program there from June 27-29, 2016. And this … Continue Reading
PMCM’s WJLP(TV), proud to be New Jersey’s full-service commercial VHF station Long-time readers will recall that, back in 2009, we reported on a mind-blowing proposal to take Station KVNV(TV), Channel 3, then licensed to Ely, Nevada, and relocate it about 2,500 miles east, to Middletown Township, New Jersey. The proposal was advanced by PMCM TV, … Continue Reading
Many readers will recall our promotional posts about the webinar on the current status of UAS regulation scheduled for last week. (Wait a minute – UAS? You may be more used to hearing about “drones”, but you’d better get used to referring to them as “Unmanned Aircraft Systems”, because that’s how the FAA refers to … Continue Reading
Meet the new approach to media relations, definitely NOT the same as the old approach In a little heralded order, the Commission has announced a dramatic reorganization – and elevation – of the Office of Media Relations (OMR). Did we say OMR? Not anymore. From now on, it’s the BUREAU of Media Relations. Apparently concerned … Continue Reading
“Broadcasters and Drones – Staying Street-Legal in the Sky” This is a reminder that FHH drone mavens Laura Stefani and Jon Markman will be presenting a webinar on the current state of FAA regulation of drones – or, as the FAA prefers to call them, “unmanned aircraft systems”, or “UASs”. The webinar will be available … Continue Reading
FHH Profs Montero and Kirkpatrick show them how it’s done. If you’re going to learn, you’re best off learning from the best. That’s why, each year, a class of aspiring broadcast executives makes the pilgrimage to NAB’s D.C. HQ to participate in the 10-month Executive MBA-style program created by the National Association of Broadcasters Educational … Continue Reading