Any idea on what grounds? It seems like "because they don't like it" isn't the kind of argument I'd want to put before a judge. Plus another 4-year review that started in 2022 is underway, according to the linked article. Perhaps it will finish by 2030.
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Calls For FCC Ownership Changes
- Thread starter TheBigA
- Start date
Would a GOP victory in November (Trump or a more conventional Republican) and the resulting all-Republican FCC panel help or hurt the NAB's chances?
Please enlighten me, which big broadcasting conglomerates are going to invest in trusted local news in rural Wyoming if they take over a ghost station?
There are no "big broadcasting conglomerates" in rural Wyoming. All small owners. Here's Carr's story:
Which didn't indicate on which grounds they'd argue for review. A court could just as easily say, in more words than this: "there's another review going on now, take it up there."
Because they haven't in fact commented on it yet. It's a holiday week. We'll likely see an actual comment next week.
Cody, Wyoming, only has TV service from KYUS-TV (owned by Marks Radio and programmed by Cowles in perpetuity as a KULR repeater) and KTVQ (Scripps).
In Wyoming itself, the TV choices are either Gray-owned stations or Coastal-owned stations.
I wouldn't be surprised to see the NAB go all Crazy Eddie Stolz and try to litigate this to the bitter end even if it is a hopeless cause.
We're talking about radio.
It's not the big conglomerates that will, it's people like me.
Real-world scenario. I've had my eye on a market near me that I can buy a cash-flowing group in right now. I'd be capped out under the current rules. There is also a religious broadcaster that has 2 FMs in the market that wants to sell, that I could add if the caps were raised. I could put an Urban format on one signal to serve an African-American population that is over 30% of the market, and put a Hispanic format on the other to serve fully 10% of the market. Yes, it would be tough getting it up and going, but I could spread my costs out over the other stations and diversify the programming in the market to serve a huge chunk of the population that's not being served now. Minority broadcasters won't even look at the market because of the perception that it's a racist area full of old white folks. Well, guess what? I'm 61, white, and where others fear to tread, I jump in because I'm not afraid of a fight and I see $$ signs. But maybe I'm wrong, and it'll fail. But you know, it's my money, and I think I can make it work.
However, with the FCC they way it is, we'll never know. I have some kidney issues I'm facing right now. My mom is in the nursing home after falling at home and will never walk again, so I'm having to put her house on the market and box up her entire life for storage until she passes. Oh, did I mention I'm having to close out my late uncle's estate that was left to my Mom to deal with until she fell. I also helped out two separate families deal with deaths of the station owners in getting their paperwork filed with the FCC, finding attorneys for them, engineers to fix broken equipment, and put them in touch with brokers for appraisals and getting the stations ready for sale. All unpaid, of course.
So I informed the people involved that I won't be buying their stations. That hasn't stopped both groups from asking me to help them find a buyer. The religious group did inform me that they can't hang on forever, and they might have to shut them down. Oh, well, the FCC can just add them to the silent station list. I've run out of patience, energy and just general give-a-sh!t about the FCC and their attitude.
Sorry for the diatribe. I'm usually a very private person, and I tend to keep things bottled up, which is probably why I only sleep a couple of hours a night. This business used to be my undying passion. Now, I fear if I don't get away from it, it will be the actual death of me.
I'd argue the hyperconsolidation in local television IS as bad, if not worse. Carr's love letter to local radio cleverly omits the other elephant (heh) in the room.
The broadcaster lawsuit over the FCC's ownership rules will be heard in the 8th circuit, with judges favorable to the industry:
www.insideradio.com
Broadcasters’ Media Ownership Appeal To Be Heard In Conservative-Leaning Eighth Circuit.
In what appears to be an early win for broadcasters, the decision on whether the FCC botched the most recent quadrennial review process will come far from Washington. Instead, a
The heavily partisan makeup of the commissioners ensures this will have an ugly outcome, especially if they're forced into more dereg. I'd expect a lot of bitterness and antipathy in the end.The broadcaster lawsuit over the FCC's ownership rules will be heard in the 8th circuit, with judges favorable to the industry:
Broadcasters’ Media Ownership Appeal To Be Heard In Conservative-Leaning Eighth Circuit.
In what appears to be an early win for broadcasters, the decision on whether the FCC botched the most recent quadrennial review process will come far from Washington. Instead, a
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It's also a fight to determine the real intent of congress when they mandated these quarterly ownership reviews. Did they really intend for the FCC to completely bypass the process? It's been over 25 years and there have been no changes in the radio ownership rules. Meanwhile stations have to compete with more media in their market, plus LPFM and translators, and shares have been driven down. We're in the same situation we were in when the FCC approved Docket 80-90. After that, they liberalized ownership rules. But no change now.
That's the other problem. Congress right now is even more divided than the FCC and is pretty much inoperable because of said division. Even if the House wanted massive changes in the ownership rules, let alone any changes to FCC procedures, the Senate would not approve. The commission has little to go with.
It's not a new phenomen. Really, the best chance anything could have happened was when the Rs had control of Congress and POTUS from 2017 to 2018, and the only actions came from Pai, who reinstated the UHF Discount and had his own issues with the Quadrennial Review.
It actually doesn't require an act of congress. All it needs is for the FCC to follow the law as written. The intent is clear.
Does the commission even consider economic viability of operations as part of its rulemaking processes? I thought that had been off the table for decades.
In reading their latest ownership rules decision, it was obvious that its not a consideration at all.
Quadrennial Counting Change Takes Effect Mar. 18 As Legal Fight Looms.
The FCC’s wrap-up of the 2018 quadrennial review of media ownership rules brought little change for radio, but what revisions there are will take effect on March 18. That comes
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