By Michael Farrell, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 8-6-18 The U.S. Department of Justice has given a heads up on its plans to appeal the June U.S. District Court decision that paved the way for completion of AT&T’s $108.7 billion merger with Time Warner, claiming in a court filing that the presiding judge in that case [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 8-1-18 The battle lines are drawn in the fight over net neutrality, at least in terms of the court schedule for filing briefs on both sides of the issue, and it looks like there will be no decision until sometime in 2019. That is according to the U.S. [...]
By Ann E. Marimow, washingtonpost.com, 7-31-18 The Washington region’s transit system can bar religious messages on its buses and trains and in its stations, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday as it upheld Metro’s policy prohibiting issue-oriented advertisements. The ruling in Metro’s favor from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 7-25-18 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has declined to overturn the FCC's restoration of the UHF discount on the grounds that the parties challenging it – Free Press, Prometheus Radio – did not have standing to bring the challenge. That could be a big [...]
Participated as a signer, with other amici, in a letter asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to overturn a temporary restraining order issued by a federal district court. The order required the Los Angeles Times to remove information in a story already published. The letter called the restraining order “extraordinary” and “unconstitutional.” [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 7-12-18 A politically divided FCC has voted 3-1 to launch a revamp of its children's television rules. Those are the 1996 rules that implement the Children's Television Act, which obligated TV stations to air educational and informational children's TV programming. The FCC is proposing to eliminate the requirements [...]
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly To Deliver Keynote Remarks at Oct. 24 Event FOR RELEASE: July 9, 2018 Contact: Richard T. Kaplar The Media Institute 703-243-5700 Arlington, Va., July 9, 2018 – The Media Institute will honor veteran TV journalist Chris Wallace, anchor of “FOX News Sunday,” and media pioneer Cathy Hughes, founder and chairperson of [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 6-29-18 Limited-government groups want the FCC to limit the mandates in its enforcement of children's programming legislation dating from the early 1990s, while a prominent kids TV group sees it slightly differently, while agreeing changes are needed. The FCC is tentatively proposing to eliminate a number of children's TV [...]
By Mark Sherman, AP, washingtonpost.com, 6-27-18 The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that government workers can’t be forced to contribute to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining, dealing a serious financial blow to Democratic-leaning organized labor. The court’s conservative majority, re-empowered by Justice Neil Gorsuch, scrapped a 41-year-old decision that had allowed states to [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 6-26-18 A majority of respondents to a new poll said they don't trust Facebook with their personal data and an even larger majority say "large internet and technology companies" should be more heavily regulated. That is according to a national telephone poll of 1,001 registered voters conducted June [...]