Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other media groups) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Tah v. Global Witness Publishing, Inc. The case raises the issue of whether the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act applies in federal court. The case concerns a defamation action brought by [...]
FOR RELEASE: March 17, 2020 Contact: Richard T. Kaplar The Media Institute 703-243-5700 Arlington, Va., March 17, 2020 – The Media Institute issued the following statement today by Institute President Richard Kaplar: “In light of the coronavirus pandemic, we have postponed our Communications Forum luncheon scheduled for March 25 until April 27. We thank our [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other media groups) filed with the Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico in The New Mexican v. Public Service Co. of New Mexico and BHP Billiton New Mexico Coal, Inc. (“PNM” and “BHP”). The case involves a prior restraint to prohibit The [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-13-20 Communications companies big and small have signed on to a "Keep Americans Connected Pledge" at the request of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Pai talked with broadband service providers and trade associations Thursday (March 12) and asked them, "in order to [...]
By Gary Arlen, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-11-20 Policymakers "need to take a fresh look at existing allocations of spectrum, including the allocation of spectrum to broadcasters" to determine if "that spectrum is still needed by the broadcast industry or if it is better used in other areas," said Jim Ciconni, senior executive VP of [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-11-20 FCC chairman Ajit Pai Pushed back hard on Wednesday (March 11) against suggestions by Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel that he was playing "hide the ball" with the way the FCC issues its request for comment on the remand of some of its net neutrality dereg order. That [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-10-20 Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks told Congress Tuesday (March 10) that the FCC and communications networks have an integral role in responding to the coronavirus and called for immediate action, calling for a “connectivity and economic stimulus” plan to address the virus. That came in testimony for [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-10-20 The Senate Financial Services Subcommittee held an FCC budget request hearing Tuesday (March 10) and a C-Band auction hearing broke out. Actually that was signaled at the outset by Subcommittee chairman John Kennedy (R-La.), who has been critical of the FCC's decision to award potentially billions of [...]
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 3-10-20 Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen told a Free State Foundation audience Tuesday (March 10) that the Justice Department's investigation into Sec. 230 of the Communications Decency Act, part of a wider look into online platforms and antitrust, is focusing on four areas for potential "engagement" and said [...]
Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sitting en banc in Rojas v. FAA. This case concerns a FOIA request made to the FAA by Rojas, an unsuccessful job applicant, for records from a consulting firm related to [...]