By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 9-1-20
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has introduced a bill, the Broadcast Diversity in Leadership Act, to promote broadcast diversity by creating the incubator program the FCC tried to create as part of its broadcast dereg order that was remanded by a federal appeals court.
The difference is that while the FCC incubator program was radio only, Walden’s is for TV as well.
Walden is the ranking member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and a former broadcaster himself.
The incubator program puts established broadcasters together with minority new entrants with the idea of giving them an opportunity to own one or more of the broadcasters’ stations, with the broadcaster providing training, access to resources, and more, but with limits on how much equity the established broadcaster can hold in the new entrant and the requirement that the emerging broadcaster have effective control of any incubated station. » Read More