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
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
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
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
On Wednesday, January 29th, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth’s Frank Montero, Dan Kirkpatrick, and Seth Williams presented a webinar that got “into the weeds” of CBD and marijuana advertising. New questions have been raised since the US Department of Agriculture in 2019 published their interim rules on the “Establishment of Domestic Hemp Projects”. To address broadcasters … Continue Reading
Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth’s Frank Montero, Steve Lovelady, and Dan Kirkpatrick recently presented a webinar about Online Public Inspection Files (OPIFs). The webinar, in collaboration with the broadcast associations of Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Tennessee in addition to the Public Radio Regional Organizations, covered a variety of topics, … Continue Reading
With FCC license renewals fast-approaching and public inspection files now all on line, it is time to seriously review and assess your FCC EEO compliance (….that is before the FCC does it for you!). In collaboration with the Colorado Broadcasters Association and the New Jersey Broadcasters Association, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth’s Dawn King, Anne Crump, … Continue Reading
With primaries in some states happening as soon as March, the 2018 election cycle is certain to be contentious and hard-fought. Now is the time for broadcasters to review their systems to ensure that they will be in compliance with the FCC’s political advertising requirements. Now that all broadcast stations are required to place political … Continue Reading
On the eve of the 2018 mid-term elections, broadcasters will soon have to navigate the FCC’s rules on political broadcasting. To assist with this, Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth’s Dan Kirkpatrick, Frank Montero, and Scott Johnson, were joined by the FCC’s Bobby Baker and Gary Schonman to present, in collaboration with the Colorado Broadcasters Association, a webinar on … Continue Reading
Join us on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018 from 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST for a political broadcasting rules refresher webinar! Presented in collaboration with the Colorado Broadcasters Association and Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, the webinar will be hosted by FHH’s all-star attorneys Frank Montero, Scott Johnson, and Dan Kirkpatrick. And, as an added bonus, … Continue Reading
Compliance has never been more important for public broadcasters. CPB regularly issues forfeitures to public broadcasting stations when the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) finds non-compliance with the provisions of the Communications Act, the terms of the CSG General Provisions, or errant NFFS reporting. Compliance, though, is more than just checking boxes and filling out … Continue Reading
This is a reminder to not snooze on next week’s CPB compliance webinar! On Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Fletcher, Heald, & Hildreth’s CPB Compliance guru Bob Winteringham will present a FREE one-hour webinar to help you navigate the twists and turns of CPB compliance. You can register for the webinar, for free, via this … Continue Reading
With the March 1, 2018 Online Public Inspection File deadline for mid-sized and smaller market (and non-commercial) radio stations approaching, Fletcher, Heald, & Hildreth’s Frank Montero and Steve Lovelady recently presented a webinar to help industry professionals navigate through the online filing process. In collaboration with Colorado Broadcasters Association, Montero and Lovelady spoke on a … Continue Reading
This is a reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 12th at 12:00 p.m. EDT, Fletcher, Heald, & Hildreth’s Frank Montero and Steve Lovelady in partnership with Colorado Broadcasters Association, will present a FREE webinar entitled “Online Public Inspection Files: A Refresher Webinar.” You can register for the webinar, for FREE, via this link. While 2017 isn’t … Continue Reading
Compliance has never been more important for public broadcasters. CPB regularly issues forfeitures of up to $15,000 to public broadcasting stations when the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) finds non-compliance with the provisions of the Communications Act, the terms of the CSG General Provisions, or errant NFFS reporting. Compliance, though, is more than just checking … Continue Reading
While 2017 isn’t even close to being over yet, we’re already looking ahead at next year’s deadlines. TV stations and a large first batch of commercial radio stations have already had to move their public inspection files online. But starting on March 1st of 2018, noncommercial radio stations, as well as the remaining commercial that were … 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
“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
[Blogmeister’s Note: While our colleague, Kevin Goldberg, may have some reservations about the utility of drones under the present state of FAA regulation, the fact remains that many broadcasters and other newsgatherers are still eager to take advantage of the opportunities drones currently provide. Anyone wishing to do so should take care to understand what … Continue Reading
If you’ve been watching TV, or reading news (whether on the Intertubes or the old-fashioned way), or eavesdropping on conversations on the subway, you probably know that we’re already in the middle of the Next Election Season (even though the Next Election happens to be more than 13 months away). Because it’s never too early … Continue Reading
On the agenda: What we know so far about the planned auction of the 600 MHz band, and what wireless carriers and other bidders interested in getting a piece of this beachfront can expect when it gets here. There’s no denying it: the unprecedented incentive auction is barreling toward us. While many details are still … Continue Reading
